JP2017196303A - Ophthalmologic apparatus and control program therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ophthalmologic apparatus, and a control program therefor capable of performing preferably alignment in a wide range.SOLUTION: An ophthalmologic apparatus for examining an eye to be examined comprises: an eye examination part for examining the eye to be examined; drive means for adjusting relative positions of the eye examination part and the eye to be examined; an illumination optical system including a first illumination optical system for illuminating an anterior eye part of the eye to be examined and a second illumination optical system for illuminating a range wider than a range illuminated by the first illumination optical system; an imaging optical system including a first imaging optical system for imaging the anterior eye part of the eye to be examined, and a second imaging optical system for imaging a range wider than a range imaged by the first imaging optical system; and control means for controlling an illumination state to the anterior eye part between the anterior eye part illumination by the first illumination optical system and the wide range illumination by the second illumination optical system.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present disclosure relates to an ophthalmologic apparatus for inspecting an eye to be examined, and an ophthalmologic apparatus control program.

  As conventional ophthalmologic apparatuses, for example, an eye refractive power measuring apparatus, a corneal curvature measuring apparatus, an intraocular pressure measuring apparatus, a fundus camera, OCT, SLO, and the like are known. In these ophthalmologic apparatuses, it is common to move the optometry part up, down, left, and right, back and forth with respect to the eye to be examined by operating an operation member such as a joystick, and align the optometry part with a predetermined position with respect to the eye to be examined. (See Patent Document 1).

  In addition, in the conventional ophthalmologic apparatus, an ophthalmologic apparatus that captures a face of a subject and performs alignment over a wide range has been proposed (see Patent Document 2).

JP2013-066760 JP-A-10-216089

  However, the current commercially available ophthalmic apparatus is accompanied by the operation of the examiner using the operation member until the eye to be examined is found, and an apparatus capable of wide-range alignment has not been realized. In other words, there are various considerations in realizing an apparatus capable of alignment over a wide range. In view of the above, the present inventors have devised a prototype of an apparatus capable of a wide range of alignment.

  In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide an ophthalmologic apparatus and an ophthalmologic apparatus control program that can suitably perform alignment in a wide range.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present disclosure is characterized by having the following configuration.

(1) An ophthalmologic apparatus for inspecting an eye to be inspected, an optometry unit for inspecting the eye to be inspected, drive means for adjusting a relative position between the optometry part and the eye to be inspected, and an eye to be inspected An illumination optical system comprising: a first illumination optical system for illuminating the anterior ocular segment; and a second illumination optical system for illuminating a wider area than the first illumination optical system; An imaging optical system comprising: a first imaging optical system for imaging an eye part; and a second imaging optical system for imaging a wider range than the first imaging optical system; and the first illumination optics Control means for controlling the illumination state of the anterior segment between the anterior segment illumination by the system and the wide range illumination by the second illumination optical system.
(2) An ophthalmologic apparatus control program executed in an ophthalmologic apparatus for inspecting an eye to be inspected, and is executed by a processor of the ophthalmologic apparatus so as to image the anterior eye portion of the eye to be inspected by the first imaging optical system. Between the anterior ocular segment illumination by the first illumination optical system in the case and the wide range illumination by the second illumination optical system in the case of imaging a wider range than the first imaging optical system by the second imaging optical system. And a control step of controlling an illumination state with respect to the eye part.

It is the schematic which shows the external appearance of a present Example. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of a present Example. It is the schematic which shows the optical system of a present Example. It is the schematic which shows an optometry part when it sees from a subject side. It is a figure for demonstrating a face imaging | photography part. It is a flowchart which shows the measurement operation | movement of an ophthalmologic apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows control of measurement preparation. It is a flowchart which shows control of full auto alignment. It is a flowchart which shows control of Z alignment. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a focus position and a focus evaluation value.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the ophthalmologic apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. The ophthalmologic apparatus according to the first embodiment may include an optometry unit (for example, optometry unit 2), a drive unit (for example, drive unit 4), and a control unit (for example, control unit 70). .

  The optometry unit may be provided to inspect the eye to be examined. The optometry unit may include, for example, an optometry optical system as a configuration for examining the eye to be examined. The optometry unit may be, for example, a configuration for measuring the eye to be examined or a configuration for photographing the eye to be examined. In addition, it is not limited to an optometry optical system, Other measurement systems (for example, an ultrasonic tonometer) and other imaging systems (for example, an ophthalmic ultrasonic imaging apparatus) may be provided.

  The drive unit may be provided to adjust the relative position between the optometry unit and the eye to be examined. For example, the driving unit may be a driving unit that moves the optometry unit with respect to the eye to be examined, or a driving unit (for example, a jaw receiving movement mechanism) that moves the eye to be examined with respect to the optometry unit. Also good.

  The control unit may be a processor, for example. The control unit may control each component provided in the ophthalmologic apparatus or may perform various arithmetic processes. The control unit may be operated by a control program for controlling the ophthalmologic apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  Further, the ophthalmologic apparatus according to the first embodiment includes an illumination optical system (for example, the index projection optical system 50) for illuminating at least the anterior segment, and an imaging optical system (for example, for imaging the at least the anterior segment). An anterior ocular segment imaging optical system 60). The imaging optical system may be an imaging optical system for capturing a front image including the anterior eye part. For example, the imaging optical system is for capturing a front image including the anterior eye part with a two-dimensional image sensor. It may be an imaging optical system. The illumination optical system may be provided to illuminate a region including the anterior segment imaged by the imaging optical system. Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment according to the illumination optical system and the imaging optical system will be described.

<Illumination optics>
The illumination optical system includes a first illumination optical system for illuminating the anterior eye part of the eye to be examined and a second illumination optical for illuminating the anterior eye part of the eye to be examined in a wider range than the first illumination optical system. And a system. The second illumination optical system may be arranged at a different position with respect to at least a part of the first illumination optical system. In this case, at least a part of the second illumination optical system may be arranged at a position farther from the examination axis of the optometry unit than the first illumination optical system. Further, the second illumination optical system may also serve as the first illumination optical system.

  At least one of the first illumination optical system and the second illumination optical system may be an illumination optical system that illuminates with infrared light. In this case, for example, an infrared light source may be used, or a filter that transmits infrared light and cuts visible light may be used together with the visible light source. At least one of the first illumination optical system and the second illumination optical system may also serve as an index projection optical system for projecting an alignment index onto the eye to be examined.

  The first illumination optical system may be an anterior ocular segment illumination optical system. The illumination range of the first illumination optical system may be, for example, an illumination range including at least the pupil, sclera, and eyelid of the eye to be examined.

  The second illumination optical system has a wider illumination range than the first illumination optical system. The second illumination optical system may illuminate a region including the anterior segment in a wider range than the first illumination optical system. For example, the second illumination optical system may be a face illumination optical system. The illumination range of the second illumination optical system may be an illumination range that can illuminate the face of the subject including at least both eyes. Further, the illumination range of the second illumination optical system may be an illumination range in which one eye can be illuminated in a wider range than the first illumination optical system.

  The illumination optical system may include a first illumination optical system and a second illumination optical system, respectively. Thereby, favorable illumination is performed in the alignment by the first imaging optical system and the alignment by the second imaging optical system, and the alignment can be performed smoothly.

  As an example of a configuration for providing a wide illumination range, the second illumination optical system is arranged at a position farther from the examination axis of the optometry unit than the first illumination optical system, thereby Can be illuminated over a wide area. In this case, the vertical and horizontal directions from the optical axis of the second imaging optical system to the second illumination optical system are determined from the distance in the vertical and horizontal directions from the optical axis of the first imaging optical system to the first illumination optical system. The distance at may be longer.

  As an example of a configuration for providing a wide illumination range, the second illumination optical system may be a diffusion optical system, and a light diffusion optical member (for example, a light) for diffusing over a wide range emitted from an illumination light source. A diffusion plate) may be provided. Thereby, it is possible to illuminate the subject's face in a wide range. The light diffusing optical member may be, for example, a lens that diverges light. Of course, an illumination light source having light diffusibility may be used.

  The second illumination optical system may include a plurality of illumination light sources, and the plurality of illumination light sources are arranged on the left and right sides with respect to the second imaging optical system, thereby ensuring a left-right illumination balance. The The illumination light sources arranged on the left and right may be arranged at positions that are separated from a predetermined interpupillary distance (for example, an average interpupillary distance of the human eye). Thereby, both eyes can be illuminated in a wide range.

  In this case, for example, the illumination light sources may be arranged symmetrically with respect to the first imaging optical system, or the illumination light sources may be arranged symmetrically with respect to the second imaging optical system. May be. Furthermore, a plurality of illumination light sources may be arranged vertically, and an illumination balance in the vertical direction is ensured. Note that a surface-emitting illumination light source having a longitudinal direction in the vertical direction may be used. Further, the illumination light source may be a ring-shaped light source. Of course, the arrangement of the illumination light source can be variously modified and is not limited thereto.

  Further, regarding the arrangement of the illumination light source, the optical axis of the illumination light source may be arranged so as to be inclined toward the eye to be examined with respect to the examination axis of the optometry unit. Thereby, both eyes of the eye to be examined can be well illuminated. Furthermore, the second illumination optical system may be disposed at a position protruding toward the eye to be examined with respect to the eye examination window. Thereby, the illumination optical system is arranged at a position close to the eye to be examined, and the amount of illumination light is secured.

<Imaging optical system>
The imaging optical system includes a first imaging optical system for imaging the anterior ocular segment of the eye to be examined and a second imaging optical for imaging the anterior ocular segment of the eye to be examined in a wider range than the first imaging optical system. And a system. The second imaging optical system may be arranged at a different position with respect to the first imaging optical system. The first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system may be disposed in the casing of the inspection unit, the first imaging optical system is disposed in the casing of the inspection unit, and the second imaging optical system is In addition, the inspection unit may be disposed outside the housing. Here, when arranged in the casing, the imaging optical system images the eye to be examined through an optometry window provided in the optometry unit, and when arranged outside the casing, the imaging optical system displays the optometry window. The subject's eye is imaged without intervention. Of course, both the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system may be arranged outside the subject-side casing surface. The second imaging optical system may also be used as the first imaging optical system.

  The first imaging optical system may be used for imaging the anterior segment of the eye to be examined illuminated by the first illumination optical system. The second imaging optical system may be used for imaging the anterior segment of the subject illuminated by the second illumination optical system.

  The first imaging optical system may be an anterior ocular segment imaging optical system. The imaging range of the first imaging optical system may be, for example, an imaging range including at least the pupil, sclera, and eyelid of the eye to be examined. The anterior ocular segment imaging optical system may be used for imaging the anterior ocular segment illuminated by the anterior ocular segment illumination optical system.

  The second imaging optical system has a wider imaging range than the first imaging optical system. The second imaging optical system may be a face imaging optical system, for example. The illumination range of the second illumination optical system may be an imaging range in which the face of the subject including at least both eyes can be imaged. The second imaging optical system may be used for imaging the face of the subject illuminated by the second illumination optical system. For example, the face imaging optical system may be used for imaging the face illuminated by the face illumination optical system.

  In addition, the imaging range of the second imaging optical system may be an imaging range in which one eye can be imaged in a wider range than the first imaging optical system. The second imaging optical system may be used for imaging one eye of the subject illuminated by the second illumination optical system over a wider range than the first imaging optical system.

  The imaging optical system may include a first imaging optical system and a second imaging optical system, respectively. Thereby, when severe alignment using the first imaging optical system and rough alignment using the second imaging optical system are performed, it can be performed in a state suitable for each.

  As an example of a configuration for providing a wide imaging range, the second imaging optical system may include a fisheye lens. The fish-eye lens can realize both miniaturization and wide angle.

<Use for alignment>
The control unit may display the anterior ocular segment image based on the imaging signal from the first imaging optical system on the display unit, or may be used for automatic alignment of the optometry unit with respect to the eye to be examined. . Further, the control unit may display an image based on the imaging signal from the second imaging optical system on the display unit, or may be used for automatic alignment of the optometry unit with respect to the eye to be examined. In this case, the control unit may perform automatic alignment with respect to the eye to be examined by controlling the driving unit based on the imaging signals from the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system.

  Further, the control unit may automatically start the optometry operation after completion of the automatic alignment. In this case, for example, the control unit automatically issues a trigger signal for starting the optometry operation using the optometry unit, and operates the optometry unit (for example, the optometry optical system) based on the trigger signal. Good.

  In the case where the relative position between the eye to be examined and the optometry unit is automatically adjusted based on the imaging signal from the imaging optical system, it is possible to move at least one of the optometry unit and the chin rest based on the imaging signal. Automatic alignment may be performed. In this case, at least one of the drive unit for moving the optometry unit and the drive unit for moving the chin rest may be drive-controlled by the control unit.

  Here, the control unit may activate automatic alignment based on the imaging signal from the second imaging optical system when the distance between the eye to be examined and the optometry unit is long. Further, when the distance between the eye to be examined and the optometry part is short, automatic alignment based on the imaging signal from the first imaging optical system may be activated.

<Lighting control>
The control unit may control an illumination state for the anterior segment between the anterior segment illumination by the first illumination optical system and the anterior segment illumination in a wide range by the second illumination optical system. Thereby, an illumination state suitable for at least one of alignment by the first imaging optical system and alignment by the second imaging optical system is set, and good alignment can be performed.

  For example, the control unit may change the illumination state for the anterior segment between the anterior segment illumination by the first illumination optical system and the anterior segment illumination in a wide range by the second illumination optical system. The anterior segment illumination may be used in alignment using the first imaging optical system, and the wide range illumination may be used in alignment using the second imaging optical system.

  Note that it is sufficient that illumination different from the wide-area illumination by the second illumination optical system is performed at any timing of the anterior ocular segment illumination by the first illumination optical system. It is not necessary to change when switching to alignment by the image pickup optical system 2. In this case, the control unit may switch between the anterior ocular segment illumination by the first illumination optical system and the face illumination by the second illumination optical system. Thereby, for example, illumination switching according to alignment control is possible, and alignment can be performed smoothly.

  As an example of the control of the illumination state described above, the control unit may limit illumination by the second illumination optical system when aligning the optometric unit using the first imaging optical system. Thereby, the influence by a 2nd illumination optical system can be reduced. For example, in an alignment mode using the first imaging optical system (hereinafter, referred to as first alignment), the control unit operates the first illumination optical system to perform anterior segment illumination, and second illumination optics. Wide range illumination by the system may be limited. As a result, noise (for example, the anterior ocular segment luminescent spot and the increase in the amount of light in the entire image) due to the second illumination optical system in the anterior segment image is limited, and appropriate anterior segment alignment can be performed.

  As an example of the control of the illumination state described above, the illumination by the first illumination optical system may be restricted during the alignment of the optometric unit using the second imaging optical system. Thereby, the influence by a 1st illumination optical system can be reduced. For example, in an alignment mode using the second imaging optical system (hereinafter referred to as second alignment), the control unit operates the second illumination optical system to perform wide-area illumination, and uses the second illumination optical system. Anterior segment illumination may be limited. As a result, noise (for example, the anterior ocular segment bright spots and the increase in the amount of light in the entire image) due to the first illumination optical system is limited in a wide range of anterior segment images, and appropriate wide range alignment can be performed.

  In addition, as a specific method for restricting the wide range illumination, for example, all illumination light to the subject may be blocked. In this case, the illumination light source may be turned off, or the illumination light may be blocked by driving the shutter. Moreover, even if not all the illumination light to the subject is blocked, the illumination light may be reduced to such an extent that noise light is reduced. In this case, the light quantity of the illumination light source may be reduced, or a part of the illumination light may be reduced by the neutral density filter. Note that any of the above methods can be used in the method of limiting the anterior segment illumination.

  Note that the ophthalmologic apparatus according to the present embodiment includes an ophthalmologic apparatus having both functions of a wide-area illumination restriction function in the first alignment and an anterior ocular segment illumination restriction function in the second alignment. It may be an ophthalmologic apparatus having only a restriction function, or an ophthalmologic apparatus having only an anterior ocular illumination restriction function.

  In the case where the second illumination optical system is disposed at a different position with respect to at least a part of the first illumination optical system, the control unit includes the first illumination optical system and the second illumination optical system. The illumination state for the subject between the anterior ocular segment illumination by the first illumination optical system and the wide range illumination by the second illumination optical system may be controlled by switching the operation of.

<Lighting control>
The control unit applies to the subject between the anterior ocular segment illumination by the first illumination optical system and the anterior segment illumination in a wide range by the second illumination optical system based on the imaging signal from the imaging optical system. The lighting state may be controlled. Thereby, alignment can be performed smoothly.

  In this case, for example, the control unit may limit wide-area illumination by the second illumination optical system based on the imaging signal from the first imaging optical system. In this case, the control unit may determine whether or not to limit the wide range illumination based on the imaging signal from the first imaging optical system, and may limit the wide range illumination according to the determination result.

  For example, the control unit may limit the wide range illumination based on the alignment detection result for the eye based on the imaging signal from the first imaging optical system. As the alignment detection result, for example, the control unit determines whether or not the eye to be examined is detected by an analysis process different from the index detection based on the imaging signal from the first imaging optical system. If it is determined that it is detected, wide-area illumination may be restricted. As an analysis process different from the index detection, for example, a characteristic part (for example, pupil, iris, sclera, blood vessel, etc.) of the eye to be examined may be detected. Further, the control unit determines whether or not an alignment index from the eye is detected based on an imaging signal from the first imaging optical system, and when it is determined that the alignment index is detected, Two illumination optical systems may be limited. Note that in the imaging signal from the first imaging optical system, it is only necessary to determine whether or not an eye is detected by corneal reflection by the illumination optical system or the index projection optical system, a characteristic part of the eye, or the like. It is not limited to.

  The alignment detection result is not limited to this, and wide-range illumination may be limited when the alignment deviation detected using the first imaging optical system satisfies an allowable range. In this case, the allowable range may be a condition that is more relaxed than the allowable range in which a trigger for starting optometry is generated. Thereby, at the time of precise alignment toward the start of optometry, wide range illumination is limited, and alignment with respect to the eye to be examined can be performed with high accuracy.

  As described above, by limiting the wide range illumination based on the alignment detection result, automatic alignment based on the alignment detection result using the first imaging optical system can be performed smoothly. For example, when detecting the alignment state of the optometry portion with respect to the eye to be examined using the pupil or the alignment index, the wide range illumination is restricted in conjunction with the detection of the pupil or the alignment index, so that subsequent alignment detection can be performed with noise light. This can be done in a state where the influence of is reduced. Therefore, automatic alignment can be performed smoothly.

  The control unit may determine whether to restrict the wide range illumination or the anterior segment illumination based on the imaging signal from the first imaging optical system, and limit the illumination according to the determination result. For example, the control unit may restrict wide-area illumination when an eye to be examined is detected in an imaging signal from the first imaging optical system, and restrict anterior-eye illumination when an eye to be examined is not detected. Good. As a result, it is possible to smoothly perform illumination restriction according to each alignment.

  In the above description, the face illumination is limited based on the imaging signal from the first imaging optical system. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the wide range illumination is limited based on the imaging signal from the second imaging optical system. May be. For example, since the distance between the optical axes between the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system is known in advance, the control unit detects the eye to be examined and the optometry unit detected by the second imaging optical system. The positional relationship between the first imaging optical system and the optometry unit can be detected by applying an offset corresponding to the distance between the optical axes to the alignment deviation. Therefore, when the misalignment reaches an allowable range in the positional relationship between the first imaging optical system and the optometry unit detected by the second imaging optical system, the control unit uses the first imaging optical system. It may be determined that the eye is detected and the wide range illumination may be limited.

  The control unit switches the imaging optical system used for alignment control between the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system, and the anterior ocular segment illumination and the second illumination by the first illumination optical system. You may make it switch to wide range illumination by the illumination optical system. Thereby, each alignment can be performed smoothly. Even when the imaging optical system used for alignment control is set to one of the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system, the other imaging optical system may be operating in the background.

  In the above description, an example is shown in which illumination is limited based on an imaging signal from the imaging optical system. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the control unit receives an operation signal from an operation unit operated by an examiner. Lighting may be limited based on this.

<Transformation>
In the first embodiment, when the illumination state is switched between the first alignment and the second alignment, the anterior ocular segment illumination by the first illumination optical system and the wide range illumination by the second illumination optical system are used. The lighting state may be switched alternately. In this case, the control unit may detect the alignment state with respect to the eye to be inspected based on the imaging signal acquired by the second imaging optical system during wide range illumination. In addition, the control unit may detect the alignment state with respect to the eye to be inspected based on the imaging signal acquired by the imaging optical system during the anterior segment illumination. In this case, although the alignment reaction speed is slightly reduced, the influence of the other illumination is reduced, and favorable alignment can be performed.

  In the second alignment, the control unit always performs illumination using the second illumination optical system. In the first alignment, the control unit performs wide-area illumination using the second illumination optical system and the first illumination optical system. Alternatively, it may be performed alternately with eye illumination.

  Note that the present embodiment can be applied even when a single illumination optical system performs anterior segment illumination and face illumination. For example, the second illumination optical system may also serve as the first illumination optical system.

  In this case, the control unit may change the illumination state for the anterior segment between the anterior segment illumination and the wide range illumination. For example, in the first alignment, the control unit may change the illumination state by the second illumination optical system with respect to the second alignment. Thereby, for example, even when the second illumination optical system also serves as the first illumination optical system, illumination suitable for the first alignment can be performed.

  Note that when the first alignment is performed, in the case of a structure in which the amount of illumination light is insufficient, the control unit may increase the amount of illumination by the second illumination optical system relative to when performing face alignment. . On the other hand, when the first alignment is performed, in the case of a structure in which the amount of illumination light is excessive, the control unit decreases the amount of illumination by the second illumination optical system as compared with the first alignment. You may do it. In addition, when changing an illumination state, the increase / decrease in the light from a light source may be sufficient, for example, when a several light source is used, the structure which selects the light source utilized for illumination may be sufficient.

  Note that this embodiment can also be applied when a single imaging optical system performs anterior segment imaging and facial imaging. For example, a second imaging optical system capable of capturing an image including both eyes of the eye to be examined is arranged, and the control unit performs rough automatic alignment and severe automatic alignment based on an imaging signal from the second imaging optical system. May be performed.

In this case, the control unit may switch the illumination state by the first illumination optical system and the second illumination optical system. For example, the control unit may perform wide-area illumination using the second illumination optical system in rough automatic alignment (when the distance between the optometry unit and the eye is large). Further, the control unit may perform anterior ocular illumination using the first illumination optical system in severe automatic alignment (when the distance between the optometry unit and the eye is short).
Second Embodiment
Hereinafter, the ophthalmologic apparatus of 2nd Embodiment is demonstrated. The ophthalmologic apparatus of the second embodiment mainly includes, for example, an optometry unit (for example, optometry unit 2), a drive unit (for example, drive unit 4), and a face photographing unit (for example, face photographing unit 90). . The optometry unit includes, for example, an optometry optical system and inspects the eye to be examined. The drive unit moves the optometry unit relative to the eye to be examined. The face photographing unit photographs the face of the subject. For example, the face photographing unit may photograph the left and right eyes of the subject. The photographing optical axis of the face photographing unit is arranged at a position shifted to either the left or right with respect to the inspection optical axis of the inspection optical system.

  As a result, even when the optometry part moves to either the left or right side to inspect the eye to be examined, the face photographing part can be arranged near the center of the subject's face. Accordingly, the face photographing unit can easily photograph both eyes of the subject. By photographing the face including both eyes of the eye to be examined, for example, when moving to the other eye after measuring one eye, the eye information obtained from the face image can be used. For example, even when the optometry unit is arranged near one eye, the movement to the other eye can be performed smoothly by using the face image.

  Note that the face photographing means may be provided so as to be positioned between the left eye and the right eye of the subject when the optometric unit is moved to a predetermined position set in advance. The predetermined position may be an initial position. For example, the predetermined position is set to a position shifted to either the left or right of the machine center position in order to quickly measure either the left or right eye. The machine center position may be, for example, the center position of the drive range in the left-right direction of the drive unit, or may be the position of the left-right symmetry axis of the apparatus main body (eg, base, face support unit, etc.). When the optometry unit is moved to a predetermined position, for example, the face photographing unit may be arranged so that the position of the apparatus main body (eg, base) in the left-right direction is the same as the machine center. Thus, the face photographing unit can photograph both eyes of the subject when the optometry unit 2 is arranged at a predetermined position. The left-right direction is, for example, the eye width direction of the subject.

  Note that the face photographing unit may be arranged at a position shifted to either the left or right of the inspection optical axis by a single-eye pupil distance (half the pupil distance). For example, the initial position may be set at a position shifted by a distance between one eye pupils from the machine center of the apparatus in order to shorten the alignment time. In such a case, when the inspection optical axis is arranged at a position shifted left and right by the distance between the one-eye pupils with respect to the machine center, the face photographing unit is arranged at the machine center position in the left-right direction. The face photographing unit may be arranged at a position shifted in the left-right direction with respect to the inspection optical axis. In this case, a predetermined interpupillary distance may be used as the interpupillary distance. For example, an average interpupillary distance (generally 64 mm) of the human eye may be used. It is not limited.

  The face photographing unit may be provided so that the photographing optical axis is parallel to the inspection optical axis. Thereby, when the optometry part is arranged at the initial position and the face photographing part is located in front of the face of the subject, it is easy to photograph both eyes of the subject's eye.

  In addition, this apparatus may be provided with a control part (for example, control part 70). For example, the control unit may detect the position coordinates of the eye to be inspected based on the face image photographed by the face photographing unit. At this time, the control unit may detect the position of the eye to be examined from an image that remains distorted due to the influence of the photographing lens (for example, the imaging lens 92). And a control part may correct | amend a position coordinate according to distortion of a face image. In this way, after detecting the position coordinates of the eye to be examined from the distorted face image, the position coordinates are corrected according to the distortion of the image, so that the distortion of the entire face image is corrected compared to the case of correcting the distortion of the entire face image. The position coordinates of the eye to be examined can be acquired smoothly.

  Note that the control unit may move the optometry unit to the initial position by controlling the drive unit, for example. The control unit may control the face photographing unit to photograph a face including both the left and right eyes in a state where the optometry unit is in the initial position. Further, for example, the control unit may control the driving unit based on the face image photographed by the face photographing unit and move the optometry means relative to the eye to be examined.

  Further, the control unit may detect both eyes from the face image, for example, and obtain the position coordinates. When the position coordinates of both eyes are acquired, the control unit 70 may perform rough alignment based on the position coordinates of both eyes when switching the measurement target eye between right and left. In this way, both eyes of the eye to be examined can be photographed in a state where the optometric unit can be moved to either the left or right to quickly align with the eye to be measured first. Thereby, not only the first eye measured first but also the position information for the next eye to be measured can be acquired, and the left and right eyes can be switched smoothly.

<Third Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the third embodiment will be described. The ophthalmologic apparatus according to the third embodiment includes, for example, an optometry unit (for example, an optometry unit 2), an anterior segment imaging unit (for example, an anterior segment imaging optical system 60), and an index light projecting unit (for example, an index). The projection optical system 50), a drive unit (for example, the drive unit 4), and a control unit (for example, the control unit 70) are mainly provided. The optometry unit inspects the eye to be examined, for example. The anterior segment imaging unit images, for example, the anterior segment of the eye to be examined. The index light projecting unit projects, for example, an index for detecting the alignment state between the eye to be examined and the optometry unit to the eye to be examined. The drive unit moves the optometry unit relative to the eye to be examined. For example, the control unit controls the drive unit.

  For example, the control unit performs an index detection process and an image analysis process different from the index detection process on the anterior segment image in parallel. In this case, the control unit 70 controls the drive unit based on the results of the index detection process and the image analysis process. This makes it possible to more reliably align the eye to be examined and the optometry part.

  The index detection process is, for example, a process of detecting an index projected on the anterior eye portion of the eye to be examined by the index light projecting unit. As a detection method based on an image analysis process different from the index detection process, for example, a characteristic part of the eye to be examined may be detected from the anterior segment image. The characteristic part of the eye to be examined may be, for example, at least one of a pupil, an iris, and a sclera. As a detection method based on an image analysis process different from the index detection process, for example, the focus evaluation value may be detected based on at least a part of the anterior segment image by a technique different from the index detection.

  Note that the detection range of the eye to be inspected by the image analysis process different from the index detection process may be set wider than the detection range in which the index detection is performed. For example, in comparison with index detection, detection of a characteristic part such as a pupil is more likely to be detected even if there is blurring or vignetting in the image, and the detection range is wide.

  Note that when the index is detected, the control unit may perform alignment between the eye to be examined and the optometry unit based on the detection result of the index. Further, when the index cannot be detected and the eye to be examined can be detected by the image analysis processing, the vertical and horizontal alignment between the eye to be examined and the optometry means may be performed based on the detection result by the image analysis processing. The case where the index can be detected may be either the case where the index can be detected without detecting the pupil or the case where the index and the pupil can be detected.

  Note that focus analysis processing may be performed as image analysis processing. The focus analysis process is, for example, a process for obtaining an evaluation value for analyzing the anterior segment image and evaluating the focus state. In this case, the control unit may control the drive unit based on the detection result of the index or the analysis result of the focus analysis process.

  The evaluation value may be, for example, an evaluation value that changes according to the distance to the in-focus position. In this case, as the evaluation value, an evaluation value that indicates a higher value as it approaches the in-focus position may be used. Further, as the evaluation value, an evaluation value that shows a lower value as it approaches the in-focus position may be used. In this case, in the image processing analysis, an image feature amount (for example, image sharpness) having characteristics that change according to the distance to the in-focus position may be acquired. The drive unit may be controlled according to the acquired image feature amount.

  Note that the control unit may perform Z alignment in which the index detection process and the focus analysis process are performed in parallel while the optometric unit is moved forward or backward in the Z direction. Then, when the index is not detected and the focus evaluation value changes more than a predetermined amount with respect to the evaluation value corresponding to the in-focus position, the control unit 70 may repeat the Z alignment again by reversing the traveling direction. . As a result, when the position where the index is detected is passed, the index detection can be attempted again.

  The control unit may perform the alignment in the front-rear direction after performing the alignment in the up-down and left-right directions.

  The control unit may perform the index detection process and the focus analysis process while the driving unit advances the optometric unit in the direction of the subject. Thereby, the optometry part can be smoothly moved to the in-focus position.

Note that the control unit 70 may calculate an evaluation value for the entire anterior segment image, or may calculate an evaluation value in a region near the pupil. At this time, the control unit 70 may detect the pupil of the eye to be examined from the anterior segment image.

  For example, the control unit may continue the automatic alignment when an index is detected in the index detection process. When the index is not detected and the eye to be examined is detected in the image analysis process, the control unit performs automatic alignment toward the in-focus position based on the detection result of the image analysis process, and then stops the automatic alignment. Also good.

  For example, when an index is detected in the index detection process, the control unit may execute auto shot after completion of automatic alignment. When the index is not detected and the eye to be examined is detected in the image analysis process, the control unit outputs an operation signal from the examiner without performing an auto shot after completion of the automatic alignment based on the detection result of the image analysis process. You may wait.

<Example>
An ophthalmologic apparatus according to the present disclosure will be described based on the drawings. In the following description, an ocular refractive power measurement device will be described as an example of an ophthalmic device, but a corneal curvature measurement device, a corneal shape measurement device, an intraocular pressure measurement device, an axial length measurement device, a fundus camera, an OCT (optical coherence) tomography) and SLO (Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope).

  The ophthalmologic apparatus of the present embodiment inspects an eye to be examined, for example. For example, the ophthalmologic apparatus of the present embodiment may perform inspection for each eye, or may be an apparatus that performs inspection for both eyes simultaneously (by binocular vision). The ophthalmologic apparatus mainly includes, for example, an optometry unit, an imaging unit, a drive unit, and a control unit.

<Appearance>
The external appearance of the ophthalmologic apparatus will be described based on FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the ophthalmologic apparatus 1 of this embodiment mainly includes an optometry unit 2, a face photographing unit 90, and a drive unit 4. The optometry unit 2 examines the eye to be examined. The optometry unit 2 may include, for example, an optical system that measures the eye refractive power, corneal curvature, intraocular pressure, and the like of the eye to be examined. Further, the optometry unit 2 may include an optical system for photographing the anterior eye part, the fundus, and the like of the eye to be examined. In this embodiment, the optometry unit 2 that measures refractive power will be described as an example. For example, the face photographing unit 90 photographs the face of the eye to be examined. For example, the face photographing unit 90 photographs a face including at least one of the left and right eye to be examined. For example, the drive unit 4 moves the optometry unit 2 and the face photographing unit 90 in the up / down / left / right front / rear direction (three-dimensional direction) with respect to the base 5.

  Furthermore, the ophthalmologic apparatus 1 of the present embodiment may include, for example, a housing 6, a display unit 7, an operation unit 8, a face support unit 9, and the like. For example, the housing 6 houses the optometry unit 2, the face photographing unit 90, the drive unit 4, and the like. The display unit 7 displays, for example, an observation image of the eye to be examined, a measurement result, and the like. For example, the display unit 7 may be provided integrally with the device 1 or may be provided separately from the device. The ophthalmologic apparatus 1 may include an operation unit 8. The operation unit 8 is used for various settings of the apparatus 1 and operations at the start of measurement. Various operation instructions by the examiner are input to the operation unit 8. For example, the operation unit 8 may be various human interfaces such as a touch panel, a joystick, a mouse, a keyboard, a trackball, and a button. The face support unit 9 may include, for example, a forehead pad 10 and a chin rest 11. The chin rest 11 may be moved in the vertical direction by driving the chin rest driving unit 12.

<Control system>
As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus 1 includes a control unit 70. The control unit 70 manages various controls of the apparatus 1. The control unit 70 includes, for example, a general CPU (Central Processing Unit) 71, a ROM 72, a RAM 73, and the like. For example, the ROM 72 stores an ophthalmologic apparatus control program for controlling the ophthalmologic apparatus, initial values, and the like. For example, the RAM temporarily stores various information. The control unit 70 is connected to the optometry unit 2, the face photographing unit 90, the drive unit 4, the display unit 7, the operation unit 8, the chin rest drive unit 12, the storage unit (for example, a non-volatile memory) 74, and the like. The storage unit 74 is, for example, a non-transitory storage medium that can retain stored contents even when power supply is interrupted. For example, a hard disk drive, a removable USB flash memory, or the like can be used as the storage unit 74.

<Optometry section>
The optometry unit 2 performs measurement, examination, imaging, etc. of the eye to be examined. The optometry unit 2 may include, for example, a measurement optical system that measures the refractive power of the eye to be examined. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the optometry unit 2 includes a measurement optical system 20, a fixation target presentation optical system 40, an index projection optical system 50, and an observation optical system (imaging optical system) 60. May be.

  The measurement optical system 20 may include a projection optical system (light projecting optical system) 20a and a light receiving optical system 20b. The projection optical system 20a projects a light beam onto the fundus oculi Ef through the pupil of the eye to be examined. In addition, the light receiving optical system 20b takes out a reflected light beam (fundus reflected light) from the fundus oculi Ef through a pupil peripheral portion in a ring shape and picks up a ring-shaped fundus reflection image mainly used for measurement of refractive power. Good.

  For example, the projection optical system 20a includes a measurement light source 21, a relay lens 22, a hall mirror 23, and an objective lens 24 on the optical axis L1. The light source 21 projects a spot-like light source image from the relay lens 22 to the fundus oculi Ef through the objective lens 24 and the pupil center. The light source 21 is moved in the direction of the optical axis L1 by the moving mechanism 33. The hall mirror 23 is provided with an opening through which the light beam from the light source 21 through the relay lens 22 passes. The hall mirror 23 is disposed at a position optically conjugate with the pupil of the eye to be examined.

  For example, the light receiving optical system 20b shares the hall mirror 23 and the objective lens 24 with the projection optical system 20a. The light receiving optical system 20b includes a relay lens 26 and a total reflection mirror 27. Further, the light receiving optical system 20 b has a light receiving stop 28, a collimator lens 29, a ring lens 30, and an image sensor 32 on the optical axis L <b> 2 in the reflection direction of the Hall mirror 23. As the imaging element 32, a two-dimensional light receiving element such as an area CCD can be used. The light receiving aperture 28, the collimator lens 29, the ring lens 30, and the image sensor 32 are moved by the moving mechanism 33 in the direction of the optical axis L2 integrally with the measurement light source 21 of the projection optical system 20a. When the light source 21 is disposed at a position optically conjugate with the fundus oculi Ef by the moving mechanism 33, the light receiving aperture 28 and the image sensor 32 are also disposed at positions optically conjugate with the fundus oculi Ef.

  The ring lens 30 is an optical element for shaping the fundus reflection light guided from the objective lens 24 through the collimator lens 29 into a ring shape. The ring lens 30 has a ring-shaped lens portion and a light shielding portion. Further, when the light receiving aperture 28 and the image sensor 32 are disposed at a position optically conjugate with the fundus oculi Ef, the ring lens 30 is disposed at a position optically conjugate with the pupil of the eye to be examined. The image sensor 32 receives ring-shaped fundus oculi reflection light (hereinafter referred to as a ring image) via the ring lens 30. The image sensor 32 outputs image information of the received ring image to the CPU 71. As a result, the CPU 71 performs display of the ring image on the display unit 7, calculation of refractive power based on the ring image, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, a dichroic mirror 39 is disposed between the objective lens 24 and the eye to be examined. The dichroic mirror 39 transmits light emitted from the light source 21 and fundus reflected light corresponding to the light from the light source 21. The dichroic mirror 39 guides a light beam from a fixation target presenting optical system 40 described later to the eye to be examined. Further, the dichroic mirror 39 reflects the anterior segment reflected light of light from the index projection optical system 50 described later, and guides the anterior segment reflected light to the observation optical system 60.

  As shown in FIG. 3, an index projection optical system 50 may be arranged in front of the eye to be examined. The index projection optical system 50 mainly projects an index used for alignment (alignment) of the optical system with respect to the eye to be examined on the anterior eye segment. Here, the index projection optical system 50 may also be used as anterior segment illumination that illuminates the anterior segment of the eye E.

  For example, the index projection optical system 50 may include a ring index projection optical system 51 and an index projection optical system 52. The ring index projection optical system 51 projects diffused light onto the cornea of the subject's eye E, and projects a ring index (so-called Mayer ring). The ring index projection optical system 51 is also used as anterior ocular segment illumination that illuminates the anterior segment of the subject's eye E in the ophthalmologic apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. The index projection optical system 52 projects parallel light onto the cornea of the eye to be examined and projects an infinity index.

  The optotype presenting optical system 40 may be an optotype presenting optical system for fixing the eye to be examined. The optotype presenting optical system 40 includes at least a light source 41 and a fixation target 42, for example. In FIG. 3, the light source 41, the fixation target 42, and the relay lens 43 are provided on the optical axis L <b> 4 in the reflection direction of the reflection mirror 46. The fixation target 42 is used to fix the eye to be examined when measuring objective refractive power. For example, the fixation target 42 is illuminated by the light source 41 and is presented to the eye to be examined.

  The light source 41 and the fixation target 42 are integrally moved in the direction of the optical axis L4 by the drive mechanism 48. The presentation position (presentation distance) of the fixation target may be changed by moving the light source 41 and the fixation target 42. As a result, the refractive power can be measured by applying fog to the eye to be examined.

  The anterior eye photographing optical system 60 may be provided to capture an anterior eye image of the eye to be examined. For example, the anterior eye photographing optical system 60 includes at least an imaging lens 61 and an imaging element 62. In FIG. 3, the imaging lens 61 and the imaging element 62 are provided on the optical axis L <b> 3 in the reflection direction of the half mirror 63. The image sensor 62 is disposed at a position optically conjugate with the anterior segment of the eye to be examined. The image sensor 62 images the anterior segment illuminated by the ring index projection optical system 61. An output from the image sensor 62 is input to the control unit 70. As a result, the anterior eye image Ia of the eye to be examined imaged by the image sensor 62 is displayed on the display unit 7 (see FIG. 2). In the image sensor 62, an alignment index image (in this embodiment, a ring index and an infinity index) formed on the cornea of the eye to be examined is captured by the index projection optical system 50. As a result, the control unit 70 can detect the alignment index image based on the imaging result of the imaging element 62. In addition, the control unit 70 can determine whether the alignment state is appropriate based on the position where the alignment index image is detected.

<Face shooting part>
The face photographing unit 90 may include an optical system for photographing a face including at least one of the left and right eye to be examined, for example. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the face photographing unit 90 of the present embodiment mainly includes, for example, an imaging element 91 and an imaging lens 92.

  For example, the face photographing unit 90 is provided at a position where both eyes of the eye to be examined can be photographed when the optometry unit 2 is in the initial position. In this embodiment, the initial position of the optometry unit 2 is set to a position shifted to the right with respect to the examination optical axis of the optometry unit 2 so that the right eye can be easily examined (see FIG. 4). Accordingly, the face photographing unit 90 is provided at a position where both eyes of the eye to be examined can be photographed in a state where the optometry unit 2 is in an initial position shifted to the right side. For example, the face photographing unit 90 is arranged at the machine center M in a state where the optometry unit 2 is in the initial position. For example, when the initial position is set based on half of the interpupillary distance, that is, based on the one-eye pupil distance, the face photographing unit 90 is shifted left and right by the one-eye pupil distance with respect to the machine center M of the apparatus body. May be arranged at different positions. Note that the average value of the distance between the pupils of one eye is approximately 32 mm.

  The face photographing unit 90 may be arranged in consideration of the optical system of various devices. Depending on the apparatus, optical elements such as a light source, a lens, and a light receiving element may be provided on the left and right of the central optometry window 2a. Moreover, an optical element may be provided above and below the optometry window 2a. Moreover, an air ejection nozzle for measuring intraocular pressure may be provided. In consideration of these cases, the face photographing unit 90 may be attached in an oblique direction, avoiding the vertical and horizontal directions of the optometry window 2a. In this embodiment, it is attached diagonally to the left. In this way, the arrangement of the face photographing unit 90 may be taken into consideration for the optical system of various apparatuses. Of course, depending on the model, it may be attached in any direction around the optometry window 2a.

  The face photographing unit 90 of this embodiment is moved together with the optometry unit 2 by the driving unit 4. Of course, the face photographing unit 90 may be configured to be fixed to the base 5 and not move, for example.

Note that the imaging lens 92 may be a wide-angle lens, for example. The wide-angle lens is, for example, a fisheye lens or a conical lens. By providing the wide-angle lens, the face photographing unit 90 can photograph the face of the subject with a wide angle of view. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the following expression (1) is derived from the relationship between the range D in which both eyes can be reliably imaged and the maximum distance L from the assumed front of the optometry unit 2 to the eye to be examined. .

Here, when D = 100 mm and L = 105 mm as conditions for reliably photographing both eyes when the optometry unit 2 is pulled to the most examiner side, θ = 50.9 is obtained from Equation (1). Therefore, when the angle of view of the face photographing unit 90 is 50 ° or more, both eyes of the subject can be photographed more suitably.

<Face lighting optical system>
The face illumination optical system 80 illuminates the face of the eye to be examined. The face illumination optical system 80 may be provided to illuminate the face of the subject including both eyes of the subject. The face illumination optical system 80 includes an illumination light source 81, for example. As shown in FIG. 4, an illumination light source 81a and an illumination light source 81b are provided. The illumination light source 81 emits infrared light. Note that the face illumination optical system 80 may illuminate the face of the eye to be inspected uniformly around the optical axis of the face photographing unit 90. In this embodiment, illumination light sources 81 are provided at the left and right positions of the optometry window. The face illumination optical system 80 may be provided at a symmetrical position with respect to the face photographing unit 90. For example, it may be provided at a symmetrical position around the face photographing unit 90 or may be provided at a vertically symmetrical position. The face illumination optical system 80 uses a light source having a lower directivity than the index light source for alignment.

<Control method>
Hereinafter, the control operation of the apparatus 1 will be described. For example, in order to inspect the eye to be inspected, the apparatus 1 performs alignment between the optometry unit 2 and the eye to be inspected fully automatically (full auto).

  A flowchart of the full auto measurement is shown in FIG. For example, after preparing for measurement, the control unit 70 performs full-auto alignment and performs alignment between the eye to be examined and the optometry unit 2. Thereafter, the eye is measured, the optometry unit 2 is moved to the other eye, and full auto alignment is performed again. When the alignment is completed, the control unit 70 measures the eye to be examined and ends the process. Hereinafter, each step will be described.

{Step S100: Preparation for measurement}
In step S100, the control unit 70 prepares for measurement. Details of measurement preparation will be described later. When the measurement preparation is completed, the control unit 70 proceeds to step S200.

{Step S200: Fully automatic alignment (1)}
In step S200, the control unit 70 performs full auto alignment with respect to one of the left and right eyes. Details of full auto alignment will be described later.

{Step S300: Measurement (1)}
In step S300, the control unit 70 examines the eye to be examined. For example, the control unit 70 irradiates the fundus of the subject's eye with the measurement light, and measures the eye refractive power of the subject's eye based on the detection result of the measurement light reflected by the fundus.

{Step S400: Left and right eye switching}
In step S400, the control unit 70 switches the eye to be measured. For example, the control unit 70 moves the optometry unit 2 from the eye that has been examined in step S300 to the other eye.

{Step S500: Fully automatic alignment (2)}
In step S500, the control unit 70 performs full auto alignment on the subject eye that has not been inspected, as in step S200.

{Step S600: Measurement (2)}
In step S600, the control unit 70 examines the other eye to be examined.

<From measurement preparation to measurement>
Subsequently, the control from the measurement preparation in step S100 to the measurement in step S300 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. For example, the control unit 70 detects both eyes of the subject from the face image photographed by the face photographing unit 90. Since the alignment index has a narrow irradiation range, it is impossible to illuminate both eyes of the subject. Therefore, in this embodiment, a face illumination optical system 80 is provided. In addition, after detecting both eyes, an index or pupil is detected. If the index or the pupil can be detected, the position of the chin rest is appropriate, so the measurement preparation is completed and the process proceeds to full auto alignment processing. Otherwise, adjust the chin rest. The chin stand adjustment may be performed manually by the examiner or automatically using the eye detection result obtained by the face photographing unit previously obtained. At this time, since the pupil can be detected even if the face illumination is lit, it may be lit. Hereinafter, each step of FIG. 7 will be described.

{Step S110: Face Image Analysis}
In step S <b> 110, the control unit 70 performs face illumination by the face illumination optical system 80. For example, the light source 81a and the light source 81b are turned on. At this time, the control unit 70 may turn off the alignment light. The control unit 70 detects at least one of the left and right eyes based on the imaging signal from the face photographing unit 90.

{Step S120: Anterior Eye Image Analysis}
In step S120, the control unit 70 analyzes the anterior ocular segment image based on the imaging signal from the anterior ocular photographing optical system 60, and performs detection processing for the eye to be examined. For example, the control unit 70 analyzes the anterior ocular segment image and performs index or pupil detection processing. At this time, the control unit 70 may turn on the alignment light and turn off the face illumination. At this time, the control unit 70 may turn on the face illumination.

{Step S130: Determination of Eye Detection>
In step S130, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the eye to be inspected has been detected based on the imaging signal from the anterior eye photographing optical system 60 in the detection process of step S120. When the eye to be examined is detected, the control unit 70 skips the chin rest adjustment in step S <b> 140 and proceeds to position adjustment of the optometry unit 2 by the anterior eye photographing optical system 60. If the eye to be examined is not detected, the process proceeds to step S140.

{Step S140: Jaw support adjustment}
In step S140, for example, the control unit 70 controls the chin rest drive unit 12 to adjust the height of the chin rest. The control unit 70 controls the chin rest drive unit 12 based on the analysis result of step S110 to adjust the height of the chin rest. In this case, the control unit may adjust the height of the chin rest by controlling the chin rest driving section 12 so that the eye to be examined is disposed within the movable range of the optometry section 2. If chin rest adjustment is not necessary, the process may move to step S180.

  According to the above flow, in the chin rest adjustment based on the imaging signal from the face photographing unit 90, the height adjustment of the chin rest is not necessarily performed by performing eye detection based on the imaging signal from the anterior eye photographing optical system 60. When it is not necessary, at least chin rest adjustment can be skipped, so that the alignment with respect to the eye to be examined can be performed smoothly.

{Step S150: Second face image analysis}
When the height adjustment of the chin rest is completed, in step S150, the control unit 70 detects at least one of the left and right eyes based on the imaging signal from the face imaging unit 90. .

{Step S160: Second Anterior Eye Image Analysis}
In step S120, the control unit 70 analyzes the anterior ocular segment image based on the imaging signal from the anterior ocular photographing optical system 60, and performs detection processing for the eye to be examined. At this time, the control unit 70 may turn on the alignment light and turn off the face illumination. At this time, the control unit 70 may turn on the face illumination.

{Step S170: Second Eye Detection Determination}
In step S170, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the eye to be examined has been detected in the detection process of step S160. When the eye to be examined is detected, the control unit 70 skips the position adjustment of the optometry unit 2 by the face photographing unit 90 and shifts to the position adjustment of the optometry unit 2 by the anterior eye photographing optical system 60. If the eye to be examined is not detected, the process proceeds to step S180.

{Step S180: Position Adjustment by Face Shooting Unit}
In step S180, the control unit 70 controls the drive unit 4 based on the imaging signal from the face photographing unit 90, for example, and adjusts the position of the optometry unit 2. The control unit 70 detects the position of the eye to be examined based on the imaging signal from the face photographing unit 90. The control unit 70 controls the drive unit 4 based on the position detection result and adjusts the position of the optometry unit 2. In this case, the control unit may adjust the position of the optometry unit 2 by controlling the drive unit 4 so that the eye to be examined is arranged within the range where the anterior imaging optical system 60 can shoot.

{Step S190: Position Adjustment by Anterior Eye Photography Optical System 60}
In step S <b> 190, the control unit controls the driving unit 4 based on the imaging signal from the anterior imaging optical system 60 to adjust the position of the optometry unit 2. The control unit 70 detects the position of the eye to be inspected based on the imaging signal from the anterior eye photographing optical system 60. The control unit 70 controls the drive unit 4 based on the position detection result and adjusts the position of the optometry unit 2. In this case, the control unit may adjust the position of the optometry unit 2 by controlling the drive unit 4 so that the eye to be examined is arranged within the alignment allowable range.

  According to the above flow, in the position adjustment of the optometry unit based on the imaging signal from the face photographing unit 90, the face photographing unit 90 performs the eye detection based on the imaging signal from the anterior eye photographing optical system 60. Since the control can be skipped when the movement of the optometry unit 2 is not necessarily required, alignment with respect to the eye to be examined can be performed smoothly.

<Parallel processing of index detection and eye detection different from index detection>
Next, an example of the control in step S190 will be described based on FIG. In step 190, the control unit 70 may perform index detection in the anterior segment image and eye detection different from the index detection in parallel based on the imaging signal from the anterior imaging optical system 60. In the following description, the case where the eye to be examined is detected by detecting the characteristic part of the eye to be examined will be described as an example of eye detection different from the index detection.

  In this case, when the index is detected, the control unit 70 controls the driving unit 4 based on the detected index to move the optometry unit 2 relative to the eye to be examined. When the index cannot be detected and the characteristic part of the eye to be examined is detected, the control unit 70 performs XY alignment by controlling the driving unit 4 based on the detection result of the characteristic part, and performs Z alignment described later.

  The control unit 70 may turn off the face illumination after the XY alignment using the characteristic part is completed. This is because the face illumination light appears as a bright spot and may hinder index detection. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and the face illumination may be turned off when the anterior photographic optical system 60 is used to change the movement of the optometry unit. Further, after the automatic alignment using the index, the control unit 70 turns off the face illumination when the misalignment between the eye to be examined and the optometry unit 2 reaches a predetermined alignment range, and the eye to be examined and the optometry unit. Severe alignment with 2 may be performed. Hereinafter, each step of FIG. 8 will be described.

{Step S220: Anterior Eye Image Analysis}
In step S220, for example, the control unit 70 performs a detection process of detecting at least one of the characteristic part and the index of the eye to be examined from the anterior eye image captured by the anterior eye photographing optical system 60.

{Step S230: Index detection determination}
In step S230, for example, the control unit 70 determines whether or not an index is detected in the detection process of step S220. When the index is detected, the control unit 70 proceeds to step S240, and when the index is not detected, the control unit 70 proceeds to the process of step S250.

{Step S240: Alignment}
In step S240, for example, the control unit 70 controls the driving of the driving unit 4 based on the position information of the index detected in the anterior segment image analysis of step S220, and moves the optometry unit 2. When the optometry unit 2 is moved, the control unit 70 ends the full auto alignment.

{Step S250: Feature site detection}
In step S250, the control unit 70 detects a characteristic part from the anterior segment image, for example. In addition, the control part 70 may return to step 180, and may perform an error process etc., when a characteristic site | part cannot be detected.

{Step S260: Pupil Alignment (XY)}
In step S260, for example, the control unit 70 controls driving of the drive unit 4 based on the position information of the characteristic part detected in step S220, and moves the optometric unit 2. For example, the control unit 70 moves the optometry unit 2 so that the reference coordinates (for example, pupil center coordinates) of the characteristic part detected by the anterior segment image analysis in step S220 are the target positions on the image.

{Step S270: Z alignment}
In step 270, the control unit 70 performs alignment in the Z direction, for example. Details of the Z alignment will be described later.

  As described above, the alignment between the optometry unit 2 and the eye to be examined can be reliably performed by performing the alignment based on the detection of the eye to be examined having a wider detectable range than the detection of the index in parallel with the alignment by the index detection.

  Further, although the index detection and the feature part detection of the eye to be examined, which are different from the index detection, are performed at the same time, a timing shift that can ignore the positional shift of the observation point due to the coarse alignment movement is allowed. For example, index detection and feature part detection may be performed alternately for each frame. In such a case, the camera settings and the image pre-processing may be changed when the index is detected and when the characteristic part is detected. For example, when detecting a characteristic part, gamma correction may be performed in order to increase the contrast between a predetermined characteristic part and the other characteristic parts.

  Similar to the above-described method, the control unit 70 may perform index detection in the face image and eye detection different from the index detection in parallel based on the imaging signal from the face photographing unit 90. In this case, at least one of the parallel detection based on the imaging signal from the face photographing unit 90 and the parallel detection based on the imaging signal from the anterior eye photographing optical system 60 may be performed.

  Next, the Z alignment in step S270 will be described. In this embodiment, the control unit 70 proceeds in the Z direction while detecting the index, and performs alignment when the index is detected. For example, the control unit 70 calculates the sharpness of the anterior ocular segment image in parallel with the index detection in order to efficiently search for a position where the index can be detected. Hereinafter, each step of FIG. 9 will be described.

{Step 271: Index / Sharpness Calculation / Proceed in Progressing Direction}
In step 271, for example, the control unit 70 controls driving of the driving unit 4 to move the optometry unit 2 in the Z direction. In the first stage, the control unit 70 advances the optometry unit 2 in a direction approaching the eye to be examined. The control unit 70 performs index detection and definition calculation while moving the optometry unit 2 forward. The sharpness of the image is high at the position where the focus is achieved, and conversely, it is low at the position where the focus is out of focus. For example, the control unit 70 determines whether the progressed result has approached or moved away from the in-focus position based on the amount of change in sharpness before and after traveling in the Z direction. Since the amount of change in definition is not known until after moving in the Z direction, it cannot be used to determine the direction of travel at the start position. Therefore, the start position may be set to the front pin position (position before the in-focus position) so as to advance in a reasonable direction even when the index cannot be detected at the start position.

  The index detection and the sharpness calculation may be performed at the same time, or may be performed at different timings as long as the displacement of the observation point due to the movement of the optometry unit 2 in the focus direction can be ignored. For example, the control unit 70 may alternately perform index detection and definition calculation for each frame.

{Step S272: Index detection determination}
In step S <b> 272, the control unit 70 determines whether or not an alignment index is detected by anterior eye image analysis while the optometry unit 2 is being advanced. The control unit 70 proceeds to step S273 when the index is detected, and proceeds to step S274 when the index is not detected.

{Step S273: Alignment}
In step S273, the control unit 70 performs alignment based on the position information of the index calculated in step 271 and ends the alignment.

{Step S274: Determination of change in sharpness}
In step S274, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the change amount of the sharpness calculated in step 271 is large. For example, if the in-focus position is passed without detecting the index, the sharpness is greatly reduced. The control unit 70 proceeds to step S275 when the change amount of the sharpness is large, and returns to step S271S when the change amount of the sharpness is small.

{Step S275: Round-trip determination}
In step S275, for example, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the number of reciprocations in which the forward and backward movements are repeated is one or more. When the number of reciprocations is one or more, the control unit 70 proceeds to step S276, and when the number of reciprocations is less than one, the control unit 70 proceeds to step S277.

{Step S276: Error processing}
In step S276, the control unit 70 performs error processing as an alignment error. For example, the control unit 70 moves the focus position between the front pin and the back pin (the position behind the in-focus position) to the focus position where the sharpness is maximum, and indicates that the alignment has failed due to display or sound reproduction. You may inform the examiner or the subject. In this case, the control unit 70 may switch the alignment mode from the full auto mode to the manual mode.

  Further, the control unit 70 may perform measurement at a focus position where the sharpness is maximized, instead of making an error. In this case, it may be displayed together with the measurement result that the measurement position is not the index alignment position.

{Step S277: Reverse direction of travel}
In step S277, the control unit 70 reverses the traveling direction of the optometry unit 2, for example. For example, the control unit 70 changes the traveling direction to the opposite direction when the sharpness is greatly reduced. By this process, even if the vehicle passes the appropriate position, it can be returned quickly. The control unit 70 returns to step S271 when the traveling direction is reversed.

  As described above, by performing the index detection process and the definition calculation in parallel from the anterior segment image, the optometry unit 2 can be smoothly moved to a position where index alignment is possible. Even a diseased eye that is difficult to align with an index can be brought close to the alignment position as in this embodiment.

  Further, since the sharpness of the anterior segment image is a technique that does not depend on the shape of the alignment index, it can be used for various devices that perform alignment by anterior segment image analysis. Further, the present invention can be used for an ophthalmologic apparatus that starts alignment based on an initial point (for example, pupil position) given manually.

<Sharpness calculation>
An example of the sharpness calculation will be described. In this embodiment, the edge strength is calculated as the sharpness. For example, the control unit 70 convolves a Sobel filter (one-dimensional filter for contour detection) with the anterior eye image (processes from the top, bottom, left, and right), and calculates the edge strength. The edge strength is a change in brightness at a certain point, and the value becomes larger as the outline becomes clearer. For example, the control unit 70 sets the integral value of the edge intensity of the entire image (the total value of the edge intensity of the entire image) as the focus evaluation value. If the luminance gradient in the x direction of the coordinates (x, y) obtained by convolving the Sobel filter is G _x (x, y) and the luminance gradient in the y direction is G _y (x, y), the luminance gradient intensity G (X, y) is given by equation (2).

From the integral value of G (x, y), the focus evaluation value F is given by equation (3).

Here, W is the width (pixel) of the image, and H is the height (pixel) of the image. In this example, the Sobel filter is used, but other filters such as a Prewitt filter may be used. Moreover, although the integral value of the edge intensity of the entire image is used, the region is not limited to this. For example, only the area near the center of the image may be used. Further, the contrast of the image may be used instead of the edge strength.

  Next, an example of the sharpness change amount determination will be described. In the embodiment, the control unit 70 obtains the change amount of the sharpness at the Z position where the sharpness is maximized among the detected positions and the position after proceeding in the Z direction. FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the focus position and the focus evaluation value. As shown in FIG. 10, the focus evaluation value has a peak (maximum value) at the in-focus position, and the value is low at the front pin and the rear pin.

Here, the focus evaluation value at the focus position Z is F (Z). For example, when the condition of the following expression (4) is satisfied, the control unit 70 determines that the change amount of the sharpness is large.

Where α is a constant. α may be a value determined empirically. In this embodiment, α is 2/3. Z _max is, for example, the Z position where the sharpness is maximum among the detected values. When there is a sufficient difference between the sharpness at the position Z and the maximum value, the condition of Expression (4) is satisfied. On the other hand, when only the out-of-focus position is observed, or when only the vicinity of the in-focus position can be observed, the condition of Expression (4) is not satisfied. When it is determined that the condition of Expression (4) is satisfied, the control unit 70 has a large change amount of the sharpness and is assumed to have moved away from the in-focus position.

  Examples of the method for detecting the eye to be examined from the image include various image processing methods such as pupil detection by infrared imaging and luminance value edge detection. For example, when the subject's face is imaged by infrared, the skin appears white and the pupil appears black. Therefore, the control unit 70 may detect a round and black (low brightness) portion as a pupil from an infrared image obtained by infrared imaging. Using the method as described above, the control unit 70 detects the eye to be examined from the face image If and acquires the two-dimensional position information thereof.

  In the present embodiment, the final alignment is performed by detecting the alignment index in the anterior segment image Ia captured by the anterior imaging optical system 60, but this is not a limitation. For example, the control unit 70 may perform final alignment based on the pupil position, contrast, edge, and the like of the anterior segment image Ia.

  The face photographing unit 90 may be provided at the same height as the optical axis of the optometry unit 2. For example, the optical axis of the face photographing unit 90 may be the same as the height of the optical axis of the optometry unit 2. For example, the face photographing unit 90 can adjust the height of the optometry unit 2 to the eye to be examined by matching the height of the face photographing unit 90 with the eye to be examined.

  As the simplest method, the control unit 70 may set the depth position farthest from the subject and then slowly advance toward the examiner until the index can be detected.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ophthalmology apparatus 2 Optometrist part 4 Drive part 5 Base 6 Case 70 Control part 71 CPU
72 ROM
73 RAM
80 Face illumination optical system 90 Face shooting unit

Claims (9)

An ophthalmic apparatus for inspecting an eye to be examined,
An optometry unit for examining the eye to be examined;
Drive means for adjusting the relative position between the optometry unit and the eye to be examined;
An illumination optical system comprising: a first illumination optical system for illuminating the anterior segment of the eye to be examined; and a second illumination optical system for illuminating a wider area than the first illumination optical system;
An imaging optical system comprising: a first imaging optical system for imaging the anterior segment of the eye to be examined; and a second imaging optical system for imaging a wider range than the first imaging optical system;
Control means for controlling the illumination state of the anterior segment between the anterior segment illumination by the first illumination optical system and the wide range illumination by the second illumination optical system;
An ophthalmologic apparatus comprising:   The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second illumination optical system is arranged at a different position with respect to at least a part of the first illumination optical system.   The control means switches the operation of the first illumination optical system and the second illumination optical system, thereby performing anterior segment illumination by the first illumination optical system and wide range illumination by the second illumination optical system. The ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an illumination state for the subject between the first and second subjects is controlled.   The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an illumination state for the subject is controlled based on an imaging signal of the imaging optical system.   The said control means restrict | limits the illumination by the said 2nd illumination optical system in the case of alignment of the said optometry part using the said 1st imaging optical system, The any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Ophthalmic equipment.   The said control means restrict | limits the illumination by a said 1st illumination optical system in the case of alignment of the said optometry part using a said 2nd imaging optical system. Ophthalmic equipment.   7. The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the driving unit based on an imaging signal from the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system. An ophthalmic apparatus for inspecting an eye to be examined,
An optometry unit for examining the eye to be examined;
Drive means for adjusting the relative position between the optometry unit and the eye to be examined;
An illumination optical system comprising: a first illumination optical system for illuminating the anterior segment of the eye to be examined; and a second illumination optical system for illuminating a wider area than the first illumination optical system;
An imaging optical system comprising: a first imaging optical system for imaging the anterior segment of the eye to be examined; and a second imaging optical system for imaging a wider range than the first imaging optical system;
With
The ophthalmologic apparatus, wherein the second illumination optical system is disposed at a different position with respect to at least a part of the first illumination optical system. An ophthalmologic apparatus control program executed in an ophthalmologic apparatus for inspecting an eye to be examined,
Being executed by the processor of the ophthalmic device,
When imaging the anterior segment of the eye to be inspected by the first imaging optical system, the anterior segment illumination by the first illumination optical system and a wider range than the first imaging optical system are imaged by the second imaging optical system. A control step for controlling an illumination state for the anterior segment between the wide illumination by the second illumination optical system in the case,
Is executed by the ophthalmologic apparatus.