JP2008183208A - Oct probe and oct system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an OCT (optical coherence tomography) probe performing stable scanning of low coherence light by reducing a phenomenon that rotational speed of a deflection part becomes uneven while maintaining a micro-diameter with a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: The OCT probe is for acquiring a tomographic image of an observed object by using the low coherence light radiated from a light source and has: a light conducting means which is freely rotatable and conducts the light radiated from the light source located at the outside close to a tip of the OCT probe; a deflecting means which is disposed away from the light conducting means, rotates around a central axis of the light conducting means by indirectly receiving rotational torque from the light conducting means, deflects the light conducted by the light conducting means to radiate it outside, and simultaneously deflects reflecting light from outside towards the light conducting means; and a torque transmitting means for transmitting the rotational torque to the deflecting means from the light conducting means and permitting rotation by inertia of the deflecting means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an OCT probe used when acquiring a tomographic image of an observation target in a lumen and an OCT system in which the probe is preferably used.

  In recent years, for example, optical coherence tomography (hereinafter abbreviated as OCT) using light from a light source (hereinafter referred to as low coherence light) having low temporal coherence and high spatial coherence, such as SLD (Super Luminescent Diode). Thus, an OCT system that acquires a tomographic image of a living tissue has been put into practical use. Specifically, the OCT system includes a main body device having the light source and an OCT probe inserted into a lumen. When acquiring a tomographic image of a living tissue using an OCT system, first, the low coherence light emitted from the light source is transmitted through a light guide (for example, an optical fiber) inserted into the OCT probe to illuminate the living tissue. To do. Then, the light reflected by the living tissue is received by the main body device. The main body apparatus measures how much the reflected light is reflected at which position in the living tissue based on the principle of the Michelson interferometer. Then, a predetermined calculation is performed based on the measurement result to generate a tomographic image of the living tissue. Such an OCT system is called a time domain OCT (hereinafter referred to as TD-OCT).

  In recent years, a method called Fourier domain OCT (hereinafter referred to as FD-OCT) has been proposed as a tomographic image acquisition method using the OCT technique. The Fourier domain OCT is roughly divided into two types: a spectrum domain OCT (hereinafter referred to as SD-OCT) and a sweep source OCT (hereinafter referred to as SS-OCT). Unlike SD-OCT, both SD-OCT and SS-OCT are characterized in that the reference mirror is not moved when obtaining reference light.

  SD-OCT is a method using a broadband light source, as in TD-OCT. In SD-OCT, spectral interference fringes are generated by causing interference between reference light and reflected light from a test object such as a living tissue. The spectral interference fringes are resampled into interference fringes on the optical frequency axis using calibration data separately obtained from the spectrometer, and a tomographic image can be obtained by applying a discrete Fourier transform.

  SS-OCT is a method using a light source unit that scans the oscillation wavelength temporally while instantaneously performing single wavelength oscillation. The light source unit includes, for example, a seed light source, a fiber ring resonator, and a wavelength selection filter. In SS-OCT, a tomogram is generated based on interference light generated by causing interference between reference light reflected by a non-movable reference mirror and reflected light from a test object while scanning the oscillation wavelength from single wavelength oscillation. Can be acquired.

  In general, an OCT probe used in each method includes the optical fiber and a tube portion (sheath) configured so that the optical fiber is inserted and a distal end portion is transmissive. In addition, a deflection unit such as a reflection mirror is provided near the tip of the optical fiber. The optical fiber and the deflecting portion are disposed in a state where the optical axis of the optical fiber is substantially coincident with the central axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the sheath. The deflecting unit deflects the low-coherence light emitted from the optical fiber and guides it to the living tissue, and returns the light reflected by the living tissue to the optical fiber again. Here, in order to acquire a tomographic image of the living tissue in the lumen, when the living tissue is irradiated with light through the optical fiber and the deflecting unit, the light is scanned in a plane intersecting with the central axis. There is a need. The structure which scans a biological tissue with the said light is disclosed by the following patent documents 1, for example.

JP-A-11-56786

  Patent Document 1 adopts TD-OCT and proposes several configurations for scanning a living tissue with low coherence light. For example, a configuration using a rotary drive device in the main unit has been proposed. Specifically, in this configuration, a shaft extending along the optical fiber is connected at one end to the deflecting unit and at the other end to the rotary drive device. Then, the shaft is rotated around the central axis by a rotation driving device. As a result, the deflection unit is rotated about the central axis (in other words, around the optical axis of the optical fiber), and the deflection direction of the light incident on the deflection unit is continuously changed, that is, scanning with low coherence light. Can be made.

  However, when the above configuration is adopted, the following phenomenon may occur because the OCT probe is very long. That is, when one end of the shaft is rotated by the rotation drive device in the main body device, the same phenomenon as when the long cantilever is rotated around the axis passing through the center on the fixed end side occurs. Specifically, the deflecting portion that rotates with the rotation of the shaft and the vicinity thereof correspond to the vicinity of the tip of the long cantilever in the rotating state (the end located opposite to the fixed end). That is, the deflection unit and the vicinity thereof rotate around the central axis while rotating around the central axis (that is, the optical axis of the optical fiber) and bending in the direction away from the central axis (direction toward the inner circumference of the sheath). .

  For this reason, there is a problem that the low-coherence light cannot be continuously scanned in the lumen, or the focal position is greatly deviated even after scanning. In response to this, it is also conceivable to arrange an ultrasonic motor or the like that directly rotates the deflection unit at the tip of the probe, as in the other configuration described in Patent Document 1. However, the other configuration requires an arrangement space for an ultrasonic motor or the like and wiring for driving the motor or the like. Therefore, the other configuration leads to an increase in size or complexity of the OCT probe, which is not realistic.

  Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an OCT probe capable of reducing focal position shift and always performing stable low-coherence light scanning while maintaining downsizing and simplification of the probe, and An object is to provide an OCT system in which an OCT probe is suitably mounted.

  In order to solve the above problems, an OCT probe of the present invention is an OCT probe for acquiring a tomographic image of an observation object using low-coherence light emitted from a light source, and is located on the central axis of the OCT probe. A wedge member extending from the distal end surface of the probe toward the proximal end, and at least the proximal end side is configured to be rotatable about the central axis of the OCT probe, and the OCT probe emits light emitted from an external light source. A light guide means that leads to the vicinity of the tip of the OCT probe, and a space formed between the wedge member and the inner wall of the OCT probe near the tip of the OCT probe, and the kinetic energy of the rotating light guide means is transmitted, A deflection unit that deflects light guided by the light guide unit and irradiates the light to the outside and deflects reflected light from the outside toward the light guide unit. As well as prohibiting the rotation of the axis, and having a rotation restricting means for allowing the rotation in the space, the.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to effectively convert the rotation around the central axis of the probe at the proximal end side of the light guide means into the rotation around the wedge member in the deflection means located at the distal end of the light guide means. Become. Further, the rotation restricting means can effectively prevent the phenomenon that the deflecting means rotates around its own central axis. Therefore, the deflecting means can be rotated stably, in other words, stable low-coherence light scanning can be realized. In addition, the deflecting means is located in a relatively narrow space between the wedge member and the probe inner wall. Therefore, the shift of the focal position is reduced as compared with the conventional case.

  According to the OCT probe of the second aspect, the rotation restricting means extends at least along the direction in which the deflecting means rotates around the wedge member, and the restricting means is provided on at least one of the wedge member and the inner wall of the OCT probe. By abutting, the rotation of the deflection means around the central axis can be prohibited.

  Specifically, according to the OCT probe according to claim 3, the rotation restricting means is configured such that the distance from the rotation restricting means to the center of the deflecting means is larger than the distance from the inner wall of the OCT probe to the center of the deflecting means. It is comprised so that it may become.

  According to the OCT probe of the fourth aspect, the wedge member has a guide groove cut in a ring shape on the outer periphery, and the rotation restricting means has a protruding portion that fits into the guide groove. The means can rotate around the wedge member by the protrusion being guided along the guide groove.

  According to the OCT probe of the fifth aspect, the inner wall has the guide groove cut into a ring shape, the rotation restricting means has the protruding portion that fits into the guide groove, and the deflection means protrudes. The portion may be guided along the guide groove to rotate around the wedge member.

  According to the OCT probe of the sixth aspect, it is desirable that the guide groove and the protruding portion are meshed so that the protruding portion does not come off from the guide groove. This effectively prevents a phenomenon in which the deflection unit is shaken in a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the probe during rotation. Therefore, the shift of the focal position is further reduced.

  According to the OCT probe of the seventh aspect, the deflection unit is joined to the light guide unit in an axially aligned state, the light guide unit is guided inside the probe by the wedge member, and the deflection unit is positioned in the space. It is desirable to extend so as to.

  According to the OCT probe of the eighth aspect, it is preferable that the deflecting unit further includes a breakage preventing unit for preventing damage caused by contact with the wedge member surface or the inner wall of the OCT probe. Examples of the damage preventing means include a metal film deposited on the deflecting means (Claim 9) or an elastic member provided on the deflecting means (Claim 10).

  According to the OCT probe of the eleventh aspect, it is desirable that the portion of the wedge member that contacts the light guide means is chamfered. Thereby, the breakage of the light guide means due to the contact between the wedge member and the light guide means can be effectively reduced.

  According to the OCT probe according to claim 12, at least a side surface in the vicinity of the tip is light-transmitting and has flexibility as a whole, and has a sheath in which each of the above-described means is accommodated, and a deflection means The light deflected by is irradiated to the outside from the side surface having optical transparency.

  From another point of view, an OCT system according to claim 13 is connected to an OCT probe having the above characteristics, a light source for supplying low-coherence light to the OCT probe, and a proximal end side of a light guide means of the OCT probe. And rotation driving means for rotating the light guide means, and image display means for displaying an image of the observation object using light reflected by the observation object and incident through the OCT probe. .

  As described above, according to the present invention, the deflecting unit can be rotated around the wedge portion in a stable state without providing a deflecting unit such as an ultrasonic motor at the tip of the probe. In other words, an OCT probe that can reduce the focal position shift and always perform stable low-coherence light scanning while maintaining downsizing and simplification of the probe, and an OCT on which the OCT probe is suitably mounted. A system is provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall structure of the OCT system of this embodiment. The OCT system 1 of this embodiment is a system for acquiring a tomographic image related to a living tissue in a lumen using OCT. As shown in FIG. 1, the OCT system 1 includes an OCT probe 100, a main device 200, and a display unit 400. In addition, in the main apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 1, the path | route of an electric signal is shown with a broken line. In the following description, the direction approaching the light source of the OCT system on the optical path is defined as the proximal end side, and the direction away from the light source is defined as the distal end side.

  The main apparatus 200 includes a controller 201, a light source 202, a fiber coupler 203, a rotary joint 204, a first actuator 205, a light detection unit 206, a signal processing circuit 207, a lens 208, a roof mirror 209, a second actuator 210, first to fourth. Optical fibers F1 to F4. Note that the optical fiber of this embodiment is assumed to be a single mode optical fiber.

  The controller 201 controls the main apparatus 200 as a whole. The light source 202 is a light source that can emit low-coherence light. In the present embodiment, an SLD (Super Luminescent Diode) is assumed.

  The OCT probe 100 also includes a fifth optical fiber F5 and an optical deflection unit 110 that are coupled to the rotary joint 204. Note that the OCT probe 100 of the present embodiment is filled with a predetermined material in order to suppress unnecessary light loss due to a difference in refractive index. Specifically, the predetermined material is obtained when the refractive index of the optical fiber F5 is n1, the refractive index inside the OCT probe 100 (in other words, the refractive index of the predetermined material) is n2, and the refractive index of the sheath 120 is n3. A material is selected such that both the refractive index difference ΔN1 = | n1-n2 | and the refractive index difference ΔN2 = | n2-n3 | approach 0 as much as possible (ΔN1≈0, ΔN2≈0). For example, in this embodiment, it is assumed that n1 = 1.3 and n3 = 1.4, and silicon oil with n2 = 1.35 is filled into the OCT probe 100.

  When the OCT system 1 is used, a tomographic image is acquired as follows. First, low coherence light is emitted from the SLD 202. The irradiated low coherence light passes through the first optical fiber F1 and enters the fiber coupler 203. The fiber coupler 203 splits the low-coherence light incident through the first optical fiber F1 into light passing through the second optical fiber F2 and light passing through the third optical fiber F3. The split ratio of the fiber coupler is, for example, that the amount of light directed to the second optical fiber F2 is about 50% of the incident light amount, the amount of light directed to the third optical fiber F3 is about 50% of the incident light amount, or the second amount. The amount of light traveling toward the optical fiber F2 can be set to about 90% of the incident light amount, and the amount of light traveling toward the third optical fiber F3 can be set to about 10% of the incident light amount. The division ratio can be changed to an arbitrary value so that a tomographic image of the living tissue T can be acquired more clearly.

  The light that is split by the fiber coupler 203 and travels through the second optical fiber F <b> 2 is then guided to the rotary joint 204. And it injects into the 5th optical fiber F5 couple | bonded with the rotary joint 204. FIG. The rotary joint 204 is driven by the first actuator 205 under the control of the controller 201, and rotates the fifth optical fiber F5 around the central axis of the fiber F5.

  The light traveling in the fifth optical fiber F5 is incident on the light deflection unit 110 that is joined to the fiber while being axially aligned. The light deflecting unit 110 deflects incident light at a substantially right angle. Then, the deflected light is emitted from the side surface of the OCT probe 100 and collected on the living tissue T in the lumen existing outside the probe.

  As will be described in detail later, the light deflection unit 110 is configured to be rotatable around a wedge member 130 disposed in the OCT probe 100. Therefore, the light deflected by the light deflecting unit 110 scans the living tissue in a plane orthogonal to the central axis. The light reflected by the living tissue returns to the same optical path as the incident light path and is guided to the fiber coupler 203.

  The light that is split by the fiber coupler 203 and travels through the third optical fiber F3 is converted into a parallel light beam via the lens 208 and then reflected by the roof mirror 209. The reflected light from the roof mirror 209 returns to the same optical path as the incident light path and is guided to the fiber coupler 203.

  The third optical fiber F3 has a total length corresponding to the optical path length from the fiber coupler 203 to the front end side end face F5a of the fifth optical fiber F5. The roof mirror 209 is configured to be movable in parallel along the central axis of the third optical fiber F3 (in other words, the optical axis of the lens 208) by the second actuator 210 under the control of the controller. With this configuration, the optical path length between the end face F3a of the third optical fiber F3 and the roof mirror 209 can be adjusted.

  Both the reflected light from the living tissue and the reflected light from the roof mirror 209 are received by the light detection unit 206 via the fiber coupler 203. Here, the roof mirror 209 is slightly moved, and the optical path length from the distal end face F3a of the third optical fiber F3 to the roof mirror 209 is changed from the distal end face F5a of the fifth optical fiber F5 to the living tissue T (more specifically living tissue). It is made to correspond to the optical path length between the condensing positions at T). As a result, the two types of reflected light cause interference. That is, in this embodiment, the low-coherence light emitted from the SLD 202 is object light guided to the living tissue via the optical fibers F2 and F5 by the fiber coupler and the reference via the third optical fiber F3. Divided into light and.

  The photodetector 206 transmits a signal corresponding to the interference pattern detected by receiving two types of reflected light to the signal processing circuit 207. The signal processing circuit 207 performs a predetermined process on the signal corresponding to the received interference pattern to generate an image signal related to the living tissue. The generated image signal is output to the display unit 400. The display unit 400 displays an image corresponding to the image signal. As described above, the light deflected by the light deflector 110 scans the living tissue in a plane orthogonal to the central axis. Accordingly, the interference pattern detected by the photodetector 206 changes with time. That is, an image displayed corresponding to the generated image signal appears as a tomographic image of the living tissue T.

  The above is a schematic description of the processing related to acquisition of tomographic images using the OCT system 1. Next, the configuration of the OCT probe 100, which is the main feature of this embodiment, will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a partial region including the tip of the OCT probe 100 on a plane including the central axis of the fifth optical fiber F5. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane including the line A-A ′ shown in FIG. 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the OCT probe 100 includes a fifth optical fiber F5, a deflection unit 110, a wedge member 130, and a guide unit 140. In addition, each said site | part F5,110,130,140 is arrange | positioned in the sheath 120. FIG. The deflecting unit 110 is connected to the end face of the fifth optical fiber F5 in an axially aligned state. Specifically, the deflecting unit 110 includes a light guide member 111, a GRIN lens 112, and a right-angle prism 113 in order from the base end side. Further, the outer periphery of the deflecting portion 110 (more specifically, the surface through which light does not pass) is provided with a metal coating 114 for preventing damage so that the deflecting portion 110 is not damaged by contacting the outer wall of the sheath or the outer periphery of the wedge member 130. Yes. The metal coat 114 is formed of a material such as alumina, magnesium, gold, or silver, for example, and the film thickness is preferably about 10 nm to 1000 nm in terms of durability and processing accuracy. The sheath 120 has a tube shape having flexibility. On the side surface near the distal end of the sheath 120 (that is, near the distal end of the OCT probe 100), a transmission region 120a having optical transparency is provided. Note that the light deflected by the deflecting unit 110 is irradiated to the outside from the transmission region 120a.

  In the following, for the sake of convenience, the direction along the central axis of the sheath 120 is defined as the X direction, and the two directions perpendicular to each other that define a plane perpendicular to the X direction are defined as the Y and Z directions.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the wedge member 130 is a rod-like body that extends on the central axis of the sheath 120 from the most distal surface of the sheath 120 toward the proximal end side. The fifth optical fiber F5 extending along (or in the vicinity of) the central axis of the sheath 120 is guided by the wedge member 130 in the direction from the central axis toward the sheath inner wall. Therefore, the deflection unit 110 is located in a cylindrical space formed between the wedge member 130 and the sheath 120. In the present embodiment, the tip of the wedge member 130 is chamfered so that the fiber is not damaged even if the tip of the wedge member 130 contacts the fifth optical fiber F5. The wedge member 130 is formed in a ring shape and has a guide groove 130b having a T-shaped cross section.

  In the above configuration, when the fifth optical fiber F5 is rotated by the rotary joint 204, the deflection unit 110 connected to the tip of the optical fiber rotates about its own central axis (hereinafter referred to as rotation for convenience). However, it rotates along the wedge member 130 (hereinafter referred to as revolution for convenience). Here, in order to stably scan the living tissue T with the low coherence light, the rotation of the deflecting unit 110 must be prohibited.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the guide part 140 is provided as a means for prohibiting rotation while allowing the revolution of the deflecting part 110. As shown in FIG. 3, the guide portion 140 is fixed to the outer periphery of the deflection portion 110 and is disposed in a state of extending a predetermined amount along the revolution direction of the deflection portion 110 while being close to the side surface of the wedge member 130. The In FIG. 3, the revolution direction is indicated by an arrow line. Further, the guide part 140 is set such that the distance d1 from the tip of the guide part 140 to the central axis of the deflecting part 110 is larger than the distance d2 from the inner wall of the sheath 120 to the central axis of the deflecting part 110. Thereby, the rotation of the deflection unit 110 is effectively prohibited. Further, since the phenomenon that the deflection unit 110 is displaced in the YZ plane between the wedge member and the sheath during the revolution is reduced, the deviation of the focal position can be suppressed to a small value.

  Furthermore, the guide member 140 of the present embodiment is configured as follows so that the deflecting unit 110 can perform stable revolution while further reducing the shift amount of the focal position of the deflected light. .

  4 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane including the line B-B ′ shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 4, the guide portion 140 has a shape that fits the guide groove 130 b, that is, a T-shaped protrusion 140 a on the surface facing the wedge member 130. The protrusion 140a is engaged with and locked with the guide groove 130b. That is, the protruding portion 140a is arranged and configured so as not to be detached from the guide groove 130b and to be slidable in the guide groove 130b.

  Therefore, when the deflecting unit 110 revolves with the rotation of the fifth optical fiber F5, the guide unit 140 is guided along the guide groove 130b without shaking in the YZ plane. That is, due to the relationship between the protrusion 140a and the guide groove 130b, the phenomenon that the deflection unit 110 during revolution is shaken in the X direction or in the YZ plane is prevented. By preventing this phenomenon, the shift of the focal position of the light incident on the living tissue T is effectively prevented.

  The above is the embodiment of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment. The present invention can achieve the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment even if the following modifications are made.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the guide portion 140 is arranged and configured to extend along the revolution direction. Here, as in the modification shown in FIG. 5, it is also possible to arrange and configure so as to extend in the reverse direction in the same manner. According to the modification shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to more effectively suppress the phenomenon in which the deflecting unit 110 during revolution shifts in the YZ plane as compared with the above embodiment.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the guide part 140 is disposed close to the side surface of the wedge member 130 having the guide groove 130b, but the present invention is not limited to this arrangement. For example, the modification shown in FIG. 6 can be adopted. In the modification shown in FIG. 6, a guide groove 120 b corresponding to the guide groove 130 b of the above embodiment is formed on the inner wall of the sheath 120. Then, the guide part 140 ′ is disposed so as to contact the inner wall of the sheath 120.

  Further, the protruding portion 140a and the guide groove 130b formed on the guide portion 140 do not necessarily have a T shape, and may be any shape as long as the protruding portion 140a is not detached from the guide groove 130. In addition, when the probe is configured so that the deflection of the deflecting portion 110 in the YZ plane is difficult to occur as a whole, the guide groove 130 is formed only as a simple recess, and locks the protruding portion 140a. It does not have to have the function of The configuration in which the deviation hardly occurs is, for example, a configuration in which the sheath diameter and the wedge member diameter are appropriately set so that the distance from the side surface of the wedge member 130 to the sheath inner wall is substantially the same as the diameter of the deflection unit 110. It is done. Furthermore, in the case of adopting a configuration in which the above-described deviation hardly occurs, the protruding portion 140a and the guide groove 130b are provided as long as the guide portion 140 is in contact with at least one of the wedge member 130 or the sheath 120. Is not enough.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the deflection | deviation part 110 demonstrated that the metal coat 114 was given. The member for preventing damage is not limited to the metal coat, and may be configured to wind an elastic member such as rubber. The elastic member to be used is not particularly limited as long as it is an elastic body, and examples thereof include synthetic rubber such as silicon rubber, fluorine rubber, and butyl rubber, and natural rubber.

  Moreover, although TD-OCT is used in this embodiment, the OCT probe proposed by FD-OCT can also be used.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an OCT system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing in the surface along the central axis of the OCT probe of embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing in the surface containing the AA line of the OCT probe of embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing in the surface containing the BB line of the OCT probe of embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the OCT probe of the modification of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the OCT probe of the modification of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 OCT system 100 OCT probe 110 Deflection part 113 Right angle prism 114 Metal coating 120 Sheath 130 Wedge member 140 Guide part F1-F5 Optical fiber

Claims (13)

An OCT probe for acquiring a tomographic image of an observation object using low-coherence light emitted from a light source,
A wedge member extending from the distal end surface of the OCT probe toward the proximal end on the central axis of the OCT probe;
A light guiding means configured to be rotatable about the central axis of the OCT probe at least on the base end side and guiding light emitted from an external light source to the vicinity of the distal end of the OCT probe;
Near the tip of the OCT probe and disposed in a space formed between the wedge member and the inner wall of the OCT probe, connected to the tip of the light guide means, and deflects the light guided by the light guide means. And deflecting means for deflecting reflected light from the outside toward the light guiding means at the same time,
An OCT probe comprising: a rotation restricting unit that prohibits rotation of the deflection unit around a central axis and allows rotation around the wedge member. The OCT probe according to claim 1,
The rotation restricting means extends at least from the outer periphery of the deflecting means along a direction in which the deflecting means rotates around the wedge member, and comes into contact with at least one of the wedge member or the inner wall of the OCT probe. An OCT probe characterized by prohibiting rotation of the deflection means around the central axis. The OCT probe according to claim 2,
The rotation restricting means is configured such that the distance from the rotation restricting means to the central axis of the deflecting means is larger than the distance from the inner wall of the OCT probe to the center of the deflecting means. . The OCT probe according to claim 2 or claim 3,
The wedge member has a guide groove cut in a ring shape along the outer periphery,
The rotation restricting means has a protrusion that fits into the guide groove,
The OCT probe according to claim 1, wherein the deflecting unit rotates around the wedge member when the protruding portion is guided along the guide groove. The OCT probe according to claim 2 or claim 3,
The OCT probe has a guide groove cut in a ring shape along the inner wall;
The rotation restricting means has a protrusion that fits into the guide groove,
The OCT probe according to claim 1, wherein the deflecting unit rotates around the wedge member when the protruding portion is guided along the guide groove. The OCT probe according to claim 4 or 5,
The OCT probe, wherein the guide groove and the protruding portion are engaged with each other so that the protruding portion is not detached from the guide groove. The OCT probe according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The deflecting means is joined to the light guiding means in an axially aligned state,
The OCT probe is characterized in that the light guide means is guided inside the probe by the wedge member and extends so that the deflection means is located in the space. The OCT probe according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
An OCT probe further comprising breakage prevention means for preventing damage caused by the deflection means coming into contact with the wedge member surface or the inner wall of the OCT probe. The OCT probe according to claim 8,
The OCT probe according to claim 1, wherein the breakage prevention means is a metal film deposited on the deflection means. The OCT probe according to claim 8,
The OCT probe according to claim 1, wherein the breakage prevention means is an elastic member provided in the deflection means. The OCT probe according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The OCT probe characterized in that the wedge member has a chamfered portion that contacts the light guide means. The OCT probe according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
At least a side surface in the vicinity of the tip has light permeability, and has flexibility as a whole, and has a sheath in which each of the means is housed,
The OCT probe characterized in that the light deflected by the deflecting means is irradiated to the outside from the side surface having the light transmission property. The OCT probe according to any one of claims 1 to 12,
A light source for supplying low-coherence light to the OCT probe;
A rotation drive means connected to the base end side of the light guide means of the OCT probe, and rotating the light guide means;
An OCT system comprising: an image display unit configured to display an image of the observation object using light reflected by the observation object and incident through the OCT probe.

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