JP2001245847A - Ophthalmological photograph apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to observe an anterior ocular segment by illuminating with visible light without a complicated operation. SOLUTION: When detecting that a body section 32 of the ophthalmological photograph apparatus has moved more than a prescribed distance away from a subject S by a signal from a detected position detection switch which detects the body section 32 has moved than a prescribed distance away from the subject S, a control circuit turns off an observation light source and turns on an illumination light source for observing an anterior ocular segment, setting a signal amplification circuit to the sensitivity for observing an anterior ocular segment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ophthalmologic photographing apparatus used in an ophthalmic clinic or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, anterior ocular segment photography has also been attempted with a non-mydriatic retinal camera that performs color photography with visible light while observing the fundus with infrared light.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems. (1) Even when photographing the anterior ocular segment, it is difficult to focus because it is illuminated with infrared light and observed.

(2) It is possible to detach the visible cut filter out of the optical path and illuminate it with visible light to observe the anterior ocular segment. However, the operation of detaching the filter is cumbersome. There is a risk that the subject to be imaged next will be miotic. Furthermore, since the reflectance between the fundus and the anterior segment is significantly different, the amount of illumination must be adjusted, which complicates the operation.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems,
By simply pulling the main body toward the photographer, the anterior eye can be illuminated with visible light and observed without any troublesome operation, so that it is easy to focus. Another object of the present invention is to provide an ophthalmologic photographing apparatus that facilitates photographing because various conditions for photographing an anterior segment are automatically set.

[0006]

An ophthalmologic photographing apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object detects a main body which is mounted on a fixed base so as to be horizontally movable, and a front-rear position of the main body. It is characterized by comprising a detecting unit, an illuminating unit having a light source for illuminating the subject's eye, and a control unit for controlling lighting of the illuminating unit based on the position information detected by the detecting unit.

Further, the ophthalmologic photographing apparatus according to the present invention accommodates a light source for illuminating the fundus of the subject's eye via a filter that blocks visible light, which is installed so as to be insertable / removable, and can be moved horizontally on a fixed base. It is characterized by including a main body installed, detecting means for detecting the front and rear positions of the main body, and control means for inserting and removing the filter based on the position information detected by the detecting means.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiment. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a fundus camera to which the present invention is applied. On an optical path O1 in front of the subject's eye E, an objective lens 1, a perforated mirror 2, a photographic stop 3 arranged in a hole of the perforated mirror 2, a focus lens 4 movable on the optical axis, a photographic lens 5, Color separation prism 6, image sensor 7
b, 7r, 7g and the signal amplification circuit 8 are arranged to form a fundus imaging means. Here, the color separation prism 6 applies infrared light and red light to the image sensor 7r and blue light to the image sensor 7b.
Then, green light is guided to the image sensor 7g.

The fundus illuminating means from the observation light source 9 such as a halogen lamp which emits visible light and infrared light to the perforated mirror 2 has a condenser lens 10 and a wavelength which reflects visible light and transmits infrared light. A selection mirror 11, a stop 12 having a ring-shaped opening, and a relay lens 13 are arranged. A condenser lens 14 and a strobe light source 15 are provided in the incident direction of the wavelength selection mirror 11.

Further, light sources 16 and 17 for illuminating the anterior segment are disposed around the objective lens 1, and the anterior segment of the eye E to be examined is visible through filters 16a and 17a for cutting infrared light. It is illuminated by light.

The signal amplifying circuit 8 is connected to an image control circuit 20 and a control circuit 21, and the image control circuit 20 is connected to the control circuit 2
1, a monitor 22, and an image recording means 23 are connected.
The image recording means 23 includes MO, MD, DVD-RAM, VT
This is a drive device that writes or reads data to or from a recording medium D that can retain storage without external power supply such as an R tape or hard disk.

The control circuit 21 is connected with a position detection switch 24 for detecting the forward / backward movement of the main body, a photographing switch 25, and a strobe light emission control circuit 26. Further, the strobe light emission control circuit 26 is connected to the strobe light source 15.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the fundus camera. In the configuration of the fundus camera, the image control circuit 20 and the image recording means 23 are housed in a base 30, the shooting switch 25 and the monitor 22 are housed on a stage 31, and the main body 32 is also mounted on this stage. The main unit 32 houses a fundus imaging unit and a fundus illumination unit. The stage section 31 is supported on the base section 30 so as to be able to move back and forth and right and left. The photographer moves the stage section 31 back and forth and left and right by pushing and pulling a joystick 33 as an operating means, and The position of the main body 32 containing the photographing optical system with respect to the person S can be adjusted.

To perform color photographing while observing a fundus image illuminated with infrared light using this fundus camera, the photographer sits the subject S in front of the fundus camera, and first places the fundus in the infrared. The eye E and the fundus camera are aligned while observing with light.

A light beam emitted from the observation light source 9 is condensed by a condenser lens 10, and only infrared light is transmitted by a wavelength selection mirror 11 that reflects visible light and transmits infrared light, and passes through an opening of a diaphragm 12. Then, the light passes through the lens 13 and is reflected to the left by the mirror part around the perforated mirror 2 to illuminate the fundus Er via the objective lens 1 and the pupil Ep of the eye E to be examined.

The reflected light of the fundus Er illuminated with the infrared light in this manner again passes through the objective lens 1, the photographing diaphragm 3 in the hole of the perforated mirror 2, the focus lens 4, and the photographing lens 5, and the color separation prism. 6 and forms an image on the image sensor 7r to be converted into an electric signal. This signal is amplified by the signal amplification circuit 8 to a predetermined amplification factor, input to the image control circuit 20, and displayed on the monitor 22. The photographer looks at the fundus image Er ′ reflected on the monitor 22 while watching the joystick 33.
Is used to adjust the position with the eye E and move the focus lens 4 to perform focusing and check the photographing range.

By performing such operations and observing the fundus image reflected on the monitor 22 and confirming that the photographing range, position, and focusing are good, the photographing switch 25 is operated to photograph a still image. The control circuit 21 that detects the operation of the photographing switch 25 emits light from the strobe light source 15 via the strobe light emission control circuit 26. The light beam emitted from the strobe light source 15 passes through the condenser lens 14, and the infrared light is removed by the wavelength selection mirror 11, and only the visible light is reflected. Thereafter, the light follows the same path as the observation light and illuminates the fundus Er.

The fundus image thus obtained passes through the objective lens 1, the photographic stop 3, the focus lens 4, and the photographic lens 5 again, enters the color separation prism 6, and becomes red, green, and blue, respectively. It is decomposed, imaged on the imaging elements 7r, 7g, 7b and converted into electric signals. The signal amplification circuit 8 amplifies these signals at a predetermined amplification rate and outputs the signals to the image control unit 10. Then, the captured fundus image is displayed on the monitor 22.

Next, to photograph the anterior segment of the subject,
The photographer uses the joystick 33 to monitor the monitor 2 shown in FIG.
As shown in the screen 2, the main unit 32 is operated to move away from the subject S.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration diagram of the position detection switch 24 for detecting the forward and backward movement of the main body 32. A height difference is provided on the upper surface of the base portion 30, and a low portion 30 a and a high portion 30 are provided.
There is b. A position detection switch 24 is attached to the bottom surface of the stage 31. When the position detection switch 24 is positioned above the lower portion 30a of the base 30, the switch is turned off, and the upper portion of the higher portion 30b of the base 30 is turned off. When it is located at, it is turned on. Since the lower portion 30a of the base 30 is provided on the subject S side and the higher portion 30b is provided on the photographer S side, the main body 32 is located by detecting on / off of the position detection switch 24. It is possible to detect that the subject S has left the subject more than the fixed amount.

A similar effect can be obtained by using a known method of electrically and optically detecting, instead of detecting the forward / backward movement using the position detecting switch 24.

As described above, the control circuit 21 that has detected that the main body 32 has moved away from the subject S by a predetermined amount or more by the signal from the position detection switch 24 turns off the observation light source 9 and The illumination light sources 16 and 17 for eye observation are turned on, and the signal amplifier circuit 8 is set to the sensitivity for anterior eye observation.

The light beams emitted from the illumination light sources 16 and 17 are filtered out of infrared light by the filters 25a and 26a, and illuminate the anterior segment of the eye E with visible light. The anterior ocular segment image thus obtained again enters the objective lens 1, the photographic stop 3, the focus lens 4, the photographic lens 5, and the color separation prism 6, and is separated into three colors of red, green, and blue, and imaged. Element 7r, 7
g and 7b, and are converted into electric signals. This signal is amplified to a predetermined amplification rate by the signal amplification circuit 8,
The data is input to the image control circuit 20 and displayed on the monitor 22.
The photographer operates the joystick 33 and adjusts the position with the eye E and moves the focus lens 4 while watching the anterior eye image Ef ′ reflected on the monitor 22 to focus and check the photographing range.

By performing such an operation, after observing the anterior ocular segment image Ef 'reflected on the monitor 22 to confirm that the photographing range and focusing are good, the photographing switch 25 is operated to photograph a still image. I do. The control circuit 21 that has detected the operation of the photographing switch 25 records the signals output from the imaging elements 7r, 7g, 7b in the image recording means 23 without the flash light source 15 emitting light. Then, the captured anterior eye image Ef ′ is displayed on the monitor 22.

In this embodiment, the light source 16 for anterior segment illumination illumination provided exclusively for detecting the longitudinal movement of the main body 32,
Although 17 is turned on, the anterior segment may be illuminated using the observation light source 9.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment, and the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same members. A filter 40 that blocks infrared light is disposed behind the lens 4 so as to be freely inserted and removed. In addition, the flip-up filter 41 having a wavelength selection characteristic of transmitting infrared light and reflecting visible light is provided by the wavelength selection mirror 1.
1 and can be evacuated outside the optical path. That is, in the state where the filter 41 is disposed in the optical path, the eye E can be illuminated only by infrared light out of the light emitted by the observation light source 9. The eye E can be illuminated by external light.

In such a configuration, the anterior ocular segment is photographed after observing and photographing the fundus Er similarly to the previous embodiment. When the position detection switch 24 is turned on, the control circuit 21, which has detected that the main body 32 has been separated from the subject S by a predetermined amount or more, arranges the filter 40 in the optical path and moves the flip-up mirror 11 out of the optical path. Then, the light emission amount of the observation light source 9 is controlled to a predetermined amount.

Further, the focus lens 4 is moved to the plus diopter side so that the anterior segment can be easily observed. After such setting, the light emitted from the observation light source 9 is condensed by the condenser lens 10, passes through the aperture of the aperture 12, passes through the relay lens 13, and is directed to the left by a part of the mirror around the perforated mirror 2. And illuminates the anterior segment from the objective lens 1.

The illuminated image of the anterior ocular segment passes through the objective lens 1, the photographic stop 3, the focus lens 4, and the photographic lens 5 again, enters the infrared cut filter 40, the color separation prism 6, and the image sensor 7b. Images are formed on 7g and 7r and converted into electric signals. This signal passes through the signal amplification circuit 8 and is amplified to a predetermined amplification factor for anterior ocular segment observation, input to the image control circuit 20 and displayed on the monitor 22. The photographer is the monitor 22
While looking at the anterior segment image Ef ′ shown in the above, the joystick 33 is used to adjust the position with the eye E, and the focus lens 4 is moved to focus, thereby confirming the photographing range.

After the above preparations are completed, the photographing switch 2
5 is operated to take a still image. The control circuit 21 that has detected the input to the photographing switch 25 returns the flip-up filter 41 to the optical path, and uses the strobe light source 15 with a predetermined light amount for photographing the anterior segment of the eye and emits light that is weaker than when photographing the fundus Er. Emits light. The luminous flux emitted from the strobe light source 15 passes through the condenser lens 14, the infrared light is removed by the flip-up filter 41, and only the visible light is reflected.

The reflected light from the anterior segment passes through the objective lens 1, the photographic stop 3, the focus lens 4, the photographic lens 5, and the infrared light cut filter 40, enters the color separation prism 6, and receives red, green, and blue light. Separated into each color, the image sensor 7
r, 7g, and 7b are formed and converted into electric signals. The signal amplifying circuit 8 amplifies these signals at an amplification factor for recording a still image of the anterior segment, outputs the amplified signals to the image controller 10,
After the image is recorded, the anterior ocular segment image Ef ′ photographed on the monitor 22 is displayed.

In the above embodiment, the main body 32
The anterior and posterior positions are detected and the anterior segment illumination light sources 16 and 17 are turned on to emit visible light. However, the main unit 32 is turned on by inadvertently pulling backward to shrink the eye E to be examined. There is a risk of causing eyes to pupil. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, a changeover switch 34 for switching anterior segment illumination from infrared light to visible light is provided, and only when the main body 32 is separated from the eye E by a predetermined amount or more, the input of the changeover switch 34 is made. When the changeover switch 34 is operated again with the visible light source turned on, or when the main body 32 approaches the subject's eye E within a predetermined distance or less, the visible light source is turned off and the infrared light is turned on. Has been.

The flow of this operation is shown in accordance with the flow chart shown in FIG. 7. When a photographing start operation such as turning on a power switch or the like, the fundus oculi observation light source 9 is turned on and the eye E to be inspected is irradiated with infrared light.
To illuminate. When photographing the anterior segment, the changeover switch 34 is operated, and at this time, the on / off of the position detection switch 24 is determined. If the position detection switch 24 is on, the main body 32 is separated from the subject's eye E by a predetermined distance or more, so that the fundus oculi observation light source 9 using infrared light is turned off, and the light sources 16 and 17 for anterior segment illumination of visible light are used. Lights up. However, if the position detection switch 24 is off, the main body 32 is not separated from the eye E by more than a predetermined distance, so that the visible light illumination to the anterior eye is prohibited, and the light sources 16 and 17 are not turned on.

In this state, if the photographing switch 25 is operated, the observation light source 9 is turned off, the strobe light source 15 is turned on, and a fundus image is captured. On / off of the position detection switch 24 is always detected. When the main body 32 is moved and the position detection switch 24 is turned off, the anterior ocular segment observation light sources 16 and 17 are turned off, and the fundus observation light source 9 is turned off. Lights up again.

By doing so, the main body 32
Can be moved to prevent the subject's eye E from miosis.

[0036]

As described above, according to the ophthalmologic photographing apparatus of the present invention, the means for detecting the forward and backward movement of the main body and the means for illuminating the anterior eye of the subject's eye with visible light are provided. By simply pulling the main body toward the photographer, the anterior eye can be illuminated with visible light and observed without any troublesome operation, so that it is easy to focus. In addition, since various conditions for anterior segment imaging are automatically set, imaging is facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a fundus camera.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a longitudinal movement detecting unit.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram when the main body is moved.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of still another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Objective lens 2 Perforated mirror 6 Color separation prism 7 Image sensor 8 Signal amplification circuit 9 Observation light source 11 Wavelength selection mirror 15 Strobe light source 16, 17 Light source for anterior segment illumination 20 Image control circuit 21 Control circuit 22 Monitor 23 Image recording means 24 Position detection switch 25 Shooting switch 30 Base 32 Main body 34 Changeover switch

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A main body which is mounted on a fixed base so as to be movable horizontally, detecting means for detecting a front and rear position of the main body, an illuminating means having a light source for illuminating an eye to be inspected, and a detecting means for the detecting means Control means for controlling lighting of the lighting means based on the obtained position information. 2. The light source according to claim 1, wherein the light source is a visible white light source.
An ophthalmologic photographing apparatus according to item 1. 3. The ophthalmologic imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit turns on the light source when the main body is away from the subject by a predetermined distance or more, and turns off the light when the main body is approaching the subject. 4. A main body which accommodates a light source for illuminating the fundus of an eye to be examined through a filter which blocks visible light and which is set so as to be insertable / removable, and is mounted on a fixed base so as to be movable horizontally, and the main body An ophthalmologic photographing apparatus, comprising: a detecting means for detecting a front-back position of the filter; and a control means for inserting / removing the filter based on position information detected by the detecting means.