JP2018171347A - Optical tomographic image imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical tomographic image imaging device which has preferable operation properties of a probe.SOLUTION: There is provided an optical tomographic image imaging device 1 for radiating a measurement light to a tissue of an eye to be examined from a probe 2 which is inserted into an inside of an eye to be examined E, repeatedly scanning the measurement light and detecting interference between a reflectance of the measurement light and a reference light by a detector 19, in which, a tomographic image of an analyte is created based on a signal from the detector 19 and then the image is displayed on a display part 41 at real time. Then, a control part 30 of the optical tomographic imaging device 1 acquires inclination information related to inclination of the eye to be examined E to the measurement light, and outputs guide for guiding an operation of the probe 2 based on the inclination information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present disclosure relates to an optical tomography apparatus that captures tomographic images of a tissue of a subject.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an apparatus using an optical coherence tomography (OCT) is known as an apparatus that can take a tomographic image at a predetermined part of a subject. In this apparatus, a tomographic image having a scan line as a tomographic plane is generated based on return light from the subject by scanning the measurement light on the subject with an arbitrary scan line.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus that captures a tomographic image of a subject via a probe held by an operator.

JP-A-2015-104582

  In the above apparatus, in order to image a desired position in the subject, an operator needs to manually adjust the position of the probe with respect to the subject by operating the probe. However, when the operator is unfamiliar, it may be difficult to grasp the position sense of the probe in the subject. In that case, there is a possibility that the imaging time of the subject will be prolonged.

  The present disclosure has been made in view of the problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide an optical tomographic imaging apparatus with good probe operability.

  The optical tomography apparatus according to the first aspect of the present disclosure irradiates the subject with measurement light from a probe inserted into the subject, repeatedly scans the measurement light, and reflects the measurement light. And an optical tomography apparatus that detects interference between the reference light and the reference light, and sequentially generates and displays a tomographic image of the subject based on a signal from the detector, and Control means for acquiring tilt information related to the tilt of the subject relative to the measurement light and outputting a guide for guiding the operation of the probe relative to the subject based on the tilt information.

  According to the apparatus of the present disclosure, there is an effect that it is possible to provide an optical tomography apparatus having good probe operability.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the optical tomography apparatus and peripheral device which concern on one embodiment. It is an enlarged view of the front-end | tip part vicinity of a probe. It is an example of the tomographic image (two-dimensional OCT data) image | photographed with the optical tomography apparatus, and was represented by the polar coordinate system. It is an example of a tomographic image expressed in an orthogonal coordinate system. It is the figure which showed the positional relationship of a subject and a probe when measurement light inclines with respect to a subject within a tomographic plane. 6 shows a tomographic image taken with the positional relationship of FIG. 5 and a guide display. It is the figure which showed the positional relationship of a subject and a probe when measurement light inclines with respect to a subject about the direction which cross | intersects a tomographic plane. FIG. 8 shows a tomographic image taken with the positional relationship of FIG. 7 and a guide display. The observation image by a surgical microscope is shown. It is the figure which showed the positional relationship of the subject and probe when the front-end | tip of a probe is separated from the subject compared with the standard state. 11 shows a tomographic image taken with the positional relationship of FIG. 10 and a guide display.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment>
First, a schematic configuration of an optical tomography apparatus (hereinafter abbreviated as “imaging apparatus”) 1 according to one embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

<Device configuration>
The imaging apparatus 1 images two-dimensional OCT data (for example, a tomographic image (B scan image)) of a tissue in a subject using a probe 2 inserted into the subject.

  Hereinafter, as a specific example, the imaging device 1 is assumed to be an ophthalmic imaging device. That is, a tomographic image of the internal tissue (for example, retina) of the eye E is imaged by the imaging device 1. However, the present disclosure can also be applied to an apparatus that captures tomographic images of subjects other than the eyes (for example, internal organs, ears, etc.). The photographing apparatus 1 includes a measurement unit 10 and a control unit 30.

  The measurement unit 10 includes an optical tomography (OCT: Optical Coherence Tomography) configuration (for example, an interference optical system). The measurement unit 10 of the first embodiment includes a measurement light source 11, an aiming light source 12, a coupler 13, a coupler 14, a reference optical system 15, a mounting unit 16, a fiber rotation motor 18, a detector (light receiving element) 19, and an optical path length changing unit. 20.

  The measurement light source 11 emits light for acquiring two-dimensional OCT data (for example, a tomographic image and an angiography in a cross-sectional direction). As an example, the imaging apparatus 1 includes the measurement light source 11 that can change the wavelength of the emitted laser light at high speed, and thereby obtains two-dimensional OCT data by sweep-source OCT (SS-OCT) measurement. The measurement light source 11 includes a laser medium, a resonator, a wavelength selection filter, and the like. As the wavelength selection filter, for example, a combination of a diffraction grating and a polygon mirror, or a filter using a Fabry-Perot etalon can be employed.

  The aiming light source 12 emits aiming light that is visible light to indicate the irradiation position of the measurement light (that is, the acquisition position of the two-dimensional OCT data).

  The coupler 13 combines the light emitted from the measurement light source 11 and the aiming light emitted from the aiming light source 12, and matches the optical axes of the two lights. The coupler 14 divides the light incident from the coupler 13 into measurement light (sample light) and reference light. The measurement light is guided to the probe 2 mounted on the mounting unit 16. The reference light is guided to the reference optical system 15. Further, the coupler 14 combines the measurement light reflected by the eye E (reflection measurement light) and the reference light generated by the reference optical system 15 to generate interference light. The coupler 14 causes the detector 19 to receive the generated interference light.

  The reference optical system 15 returns the reference light guided from the coupler 14 to the coupler 14 again. The reference optical system 15 may be a reflection optical system (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-188276) or a transmission optical system (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-220774).

  The detector 19 detects an interference state between the reflected measurement light and the reference light. In other words, the detector 19 detects the interference signal of the interference light generated by the coupler 14. More specifically, in the case of Fourier domain OCT, the spectral intensity of the interference light is detected by the detector 19, and a depth profile (A scan signal) in a predetermined range is obtained by Fourier transform on the spectral intensity data. Further, by collecting depth profiles for each scanning position and arranging the depth profiles, two-dimensional OCT data (for example, B scan image see FIGS. 3 and 4) is formed.

  As described above, SS-OCT is adopted for the imaging apparatus 1 of the first embodiment. However, various types of OCT can be adopted for the imaging apparatus 1. For example, any of Spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT), Time-domain OCT (TD-OCT), and the like may be employed in the imaging apparatus 1. When employing SS-OCT, it is desirable to employ a balanced detector having a plurality of light receiving elements as the detector 19. When the balance detector is used, the imaging apparatus 1 can obtain the difference between the interference signals from the plurality of light receiving elements, and reduce unnecessary noise included in the interference signals. As a result, the quality of the two-dimensional OCT data is improved.

  A rear end portion (base end portion) of the fiber 4 in the probe 2 is detachably attached to the attachment portion (for example, connector) 16. When the probe 2 is attached to the attachment part 16, the probe 2 is connected to the measurement light guide path (for example, the fiber 4 in the measurement part 10) divided by the coupler 14.

  A fiber rotation motor (hereinafter abbreviated as “motor”) 18 can rotate the mounting portion 16 to which the fiber 4 is mounted about the axis of the fiber 4. That is, the motor 18 rotates the fiber 4 by rotating the mounting portion 16. As a result, in the first embodiment, measurement light and aiming light are scanned (details will be described later). The motor 18 is provided with a rotation detection sensor 18a. The rotation detection sensor 18a detects the rotation of the fiber 4 at the rear end for each rotation and outputs a signal to the control unit 30 for each detection (that is, for each rotation). The signal from the rotation detection sensor 18a is used to determine the generation start timing of each two-dimensional OCT data (for example, B scan image). That is, one scan is performed between two signals that are continuously output as the fiber 4 rotates.

  Here, the probe 2 attached to the attachment part 16 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The probe 2 includes a probe main body 3 and a fiber 4. The probe body 3 includes a hand piece 5 and a needle 6.

  The fiber 4 is inserted into the probe main body 3 and guides the measurement light and aiming light guided from the coupler 14 of the measurement unit 10 to the tip of the needle 6 from the outside of the probe main body 3.

  The fiber 4 is covered with a torque coil (not shown). The torque coil is an example of a torque transmission unit, and transmits torque from the motor 18 to the fiber 4. Thereby, the fiber 4 is rotated together with the torque coil. The fiber 4 and the torque coil 7 rotate freely with respect to the handpiece 5.

  The handpiece 5 is a substantially cylindrical member that is gripped by an operator (for example, an examiner, an operator, etc.). The needle 6 is provided at the tip of the handpiece 5 and has an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the handpiece 5. The tip of the needle 6 is inserted into the subject (for example, the eye E). The fiber 4 is connected to the rear end of the handpiece 5 and extends to the tip of the needle 6. The probe 2 can emit each light from the tip while scanning the measurement light and aiming light guided by the fiber 4.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 2, the structure of the front-end | tip part in the probe 2 is demonstrated in detail. A light shielding member 61, an outer cylinder 66, a holding portion 68, a deflection portion 71, and the like are provided at the distal end portion of the needle 6.

  The light shielding member 61 surrounds the periphery of the fiber 4 (particularly, the periphery of the holding unit 68 and the deflecting unit 71). The shape of the light shielding member 61 illustrated in FIG. 2 is substantially cylindrical. The light blocking member 61 is formed of a material that blocks measurement light and aiming light. A notch 62 (or opening) having a predetermined width in the scanning direction (direction around the axis) of the measurement light and aiming light is provided in the vicinity of the portion where the deflection unit 71 is located in the axial direction of the light shielding member 61. Is formed. The light emitted from the deflecting unit 71 is transmitted to the outside in the region 63 inside the notch 62 (hereinafter referred to as “transmission region 63”), but the region 64 where the notch 62 is not formed (hereinafter referred to as “transmission region 63”). In the “light shielding region 64”), light is shielded by the light shielding member 61.

  The inner surface of the light shielding member 61 may be roughened. That is, a large number of fine irregularities may be formed on the inner surface. In this case, in the light shielding region 64, the light irradiated on the inner surface of the light shielding member 61 is scattered. Accordingly, the reflected light reflected by the light shielding region 64 does not return to the deflecting unit 71 as compared with the case where the inner side of the light shielding member 61 hardly scatters light (for example, when the inner surface is mirror-finished). The possibility decreases. That is, when mirror processing or the like is performed, when light is reflected in a direction different from that of the deflecting unit 71, no reflected light is incident on the deflecting unit 71. When the reflected light is scattered, the reflected light easily returns to the deflecting unit 71. Therefore, the imaging apparatus 1 can perform more reliable detection using the reflected light reflected by the light shielding region 64 when detecting that the measurement light is irradiated on the light shielding region 64.

  In addition, although the shape of the transmissive area | region 63 of this embodiment is a substantially rectangular shape, it cannot be overemphasized that the magnitude | size of the transmissive area | region 63, a shape, a number, etc. can be changed. In addition, a specific method for forming the transmission region 63 and the light shielding region 64 can be changed. For example, the light-transmitting region 63 and the light-shielding region 64 may be formed by manufacturing the light-shielding member 61 by combining a material that transmits measurement light and aiming light and a material that shields light.

  The outer cylinder 66 is made of a material that transmits measurement light and aiming light, and closes the outside of the light shielding member 61. Therefore, the outer cylinder 66 allows light to pass between the inside and the outside of the transmission region 63 while preventing blood, vitreous tissue and the like from entering inside. The outer cylinder 66 may be positioned inside the light shielding member 61.

  The holding portion 68 is a substantially cylindrical member having an outer shape, and is fixed to the light shielding member 61. An insertion hole 69 through which the fiber 4 is inserted in a rotatable state is formed in the axial center portion of the holding portion 68. The holding unit 68 holds the fiber 4 in a rotatable manner in a state where the position of the axis of the fiber 4 with respect to the light shielding member 61 is fixed.

  The deflection unit 71 is provided at the tip of the fiber 4. The deflecting unit 71 deflects the light emitted from the tip of the fiber 4. The light deflected by the deflecting unit 71 is irradiated to the tissue of the subject when passing through the transmission region 63. In the present embodiment, the light deflected by the deflecting unit 71 is collected at a predetermined distance. The deflecting unit 71 may be, for example, a ball lens or a prism. The deflecting unit 71 receives reflected measurement light reflected by the tissue and makes it incident on the fiber 4. The deflecting unit 71 of this embodiment deflects light at an angle of about 70 degrees with respect to the axial direction of the fiber 4, but the angle of deflection can be changed as appropriate. Note that a shaft 73 for suppressing twisting of the fiber 4 and the like is provided on the outer periphery of a portion of the fiber 4 on the rear end side of the holding portion 68. In the present embodiment, the motor 18 rotates the deflecting unit 71 together with the fiber 4, whereby the measurement light (and aiming light) is scanned. That is, the “optical scanner” in the present embodiment includes at least the motor 18 and the deflecting unit 71.

  Note that the swing angle (that is, the scanning range of the measurement light) of the optical scanner in the present embodiment is determined by the width of the transmission region 63. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the swing angle is set in a range of less than 90 °. However, this is only an example, and the magnitude of the swing angle may be changed as appropriate.

  In this embodiment, in a state where the tip of the probe 2 is inserted into the eyeball, the measurement light irradiated and scanned within a certain range from the tip of the probe 2 is irradiated to a desired position in the eyeball. A person can obtain two-dimensional OCT data at a desired position in the eyeball by adjusting the position of the probe 2.

  Note that the imaging apparatus 1 may include various configurations such as an optical system for adjusting the focus of the measurement light in the measurement unit 10 or the probe 2. These detailed explanations are omitted.

  Next, the control system of the apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 30 includes a CPU (processor) 31, a RAM 32, a ROM 33, a nonvolatile memory 34, and the like. The CPU 31 controls the photographing apparatus 1 and peripheral devices. The RAM 32 temporarily stores various information. The ROM 33 stores various programs, initial values, and the like. The nonvolatile memory 34 is a non-transitory storage medium that can retain stored contents even when power supply is interrupted. For example, a hard disk drive, a flash ROM, and a USB memory that is detachably attached to the photographing apparatus 1 can be used as the nonvolatile memory 34. The nonvolatile memory 34 stores a program for controlling each part of the apparatus. The nonvolatile memory 34 stores various information such as a captured tomographic image.

  In the present embodiment, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) connected to the measurement unit 10 is used as the control unit 30. However, the measurement unit 10 and the control unit 30 may be provided in one device without using a PC. The control unit 30 may be configured by a plurality of control units (that is, a plurality of processors). For example, the control unit 30 of the photographing apparatus 1 may be configured by a first control unit provided in the PC and a second control unit provided in the measurement unit 10. In this case, for example, the first control unit of the PC may instruct the second control unit to start and end shooting based on the operation of the operation unit connected to the PC. The second control unit may control the operations of the measurement light source 11, the aiming light source 12, the motor 18 and the like according to instructions from the first control unit. Further, the image generation processing based on the interference signal may be performed by either the first control unit or the second control unit.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 30 also serves as an image forming unit that forms a tomographic image based on a signal from the detector 19. In this case, for example, the control unit 30 performs a Fourier transform on the signal from the detector 19 to obtain a depth profile (A scan), and arranges the obtained depth profiles for each scanning position to obtain 2 Dimension OCT data (for example, B scan image) is generated. In this embodiment, since scanning is performed around the axis of the probe 2, each depth profile is expressed by polar coordinates where the origin is placed on the axis of the probe 2. The control unit 30 may acquire the two-dimensional OCT data of the subject expressed by the polar coordinates. The two-dimensional OCT data may be tomographic image data expressed by polar coordinates, or may be tomographic image data expressed by orthogonal coordinates. For a conversion method (coordinate conversion processing) from polar coordinate data to orthogonal coordinate data, see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-104582 by the present applicant.

  Peripheral devices such as a display unit 41, an operation unit 42, and a surgical microscope 46 are electrically connected to the control unit 30. The display unit 41 displays a tomographic image, which will be described later. The display unit 41 may be, for example, a PC display, a display dedicated to the photographing apparatus 1, or may be other than that. A plurality of displays may be used in combination.

  The operation unit 42 is a device for recognizing various operation instructions. As the operation unit 42, for example, at least one of a mouse, a joystick, a keyboard, a touch panel, and the like may be used. These may be operated by an assistant who assists the work from a location away from the worker.

  Further, for example, as the operation unit 42 to which an operation instruction from an operator is input, a switch (not shown) is provided in the probe 2, a voice recognition device for recognizing a voice from the operator, or an operator's gesture A device for recognizing may be provided.

  The surgical microscope 46 magnifies and displays the inside of the subject (the eye E in this embodiment) during surgery, during diagnosis, or during these exercises (taken and magnified in this embodiment). The operator performs surgery, diagnosis, or training thereof while looking into the surgical microscope 46 (in the present embodiment, these are collectively referred to as “work”). Moreover, in this embodiment, the control part 30 can acquire the image image | photographed with the surgical microscope 46, and can display it on a display part. During the work, the worker's assistants and the like can confirm the work status and the like by checking the image displayed on the display unit.

  Note that the present disclosure can be realized without using the surgical microscope 46. For example, an observation optical system for capturing an image inside the subject may be provided in the measurement unit 10. In this case, the operator can work while confirming the image photographed by the observation optical system. Further, the present disclosure can be applied even when the operator gazes near the tip of the probe 2 with the naked eye.

<Description of operation>
With reference to FIGS. 3 to 10, the operation of the photographing apparatus 1 will be described.

<Generation and display of tomographic images>
The control unit 30 turns on the measurement light source 11 to irradiate the measurement light from the deflection unit 71 and controls the motor 18 to rotate the fiber 4 at a constant speed. Thereby, the measurement light is scanned on the subject (fundus). The control unit 30 acquires two-dimensional OCT data (for example, a B-scan image) based on a signal output from the detector 19 as the measurement light is scanned. For example, the two-dimensional OCT data may be formed based on a signal output from the detector 19 as a result of scanning the measurement light from one end to the other end of the transmission region 63. The generated two-dimensional OCT data may be displayed on the display unit 41 as a tomographic image.

  In the following description, for the sake of convenience, it is assumed that a live image captured in substantially real time is displayed on the display unit 41. The live image is useful for grasping the state of the subject (fundus) during work.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of two-dimensional OCT data acquired by the apparatus having the above configuration. FIG. 3 is a tomographic image expressed in orthogonal coordinates. Reference numeral 101 indicates an image of the subject (fundus), and reference numeral 105 indicates a reflected image of the light shielding member 61.

  FIG. 3 shows an image taken in a state in which the probe 2 is satisfactorily arranged on the subject (hereinafter referred to as “standard state”). That is, when imaging, the standard state is a case where the distance between the subject and the tip of the probe 2, the irradiation angle of the measurement light with respect to the subject, and the like are in an appropriate range. The distance between the subject and the tip of the probe 2 in the standard state is, for example, within a range in which a tomographic image of the subject can be included in the imaging range in the depth direction when the optical path length difference between the measurement optical path and the reference optical path is appropriate. , May be set as appropriate. In the present embodiment, various parameters that define the standard state may be stored in advance in a memory or the like, for example. Hereinafter, an example will be described in which a predetermined range in which the subject and the measurement light are substantially orthogonal is set as an irradiation angle in a standard state.

<Guide display>
Here, in this embodiment, a guide display is displayed on the display unit 41 together with the live image. The guide display is displayed to guide the operation of the probe 2 on the subject (here, the fundus). As an example, the guide display in the present embodiment is guided so that the positional relationship between the subject and the probe 2 is in a standard state.

  The guide display is displayed based on information indicating the positional relationship between the subject and the probe 2 (hereinafter referred to as “position information”). The guide display changes according to the positional relationship between the subject and the probe 2, thereby guiding an operation according to the positional relationship. The position information is acquired by the control unit 30. In the present embodiment, position information is acquired by processing the tomographic images sequentially generated by the control unit 30.

  In the present embodiment, the position information may include at least inclination information. The tilt information is information regarding the tilt of the subject with respect to the measurement light. Here, the inclination of the subject with respect to the measurement light includes the inclination of the measurement light and the subject within the tomographic plane (see FIG. 5) and the direction intersecting the tomographic plane (for example, the direction of tilting the paper surface of FIG. 3). There are two components: the measurement light and the inclination of the subject (see FIG. 7). In the following description, information regarding the inclination between the measurement light and the subject in the tomographic plane is referred to as first inclination information, and information regarding the inclination between the measurement light and the subject in the direction intersecting the tomographic plane is referred to as second inclination information. Called. The tilt information in the present embodiment includes at least first tilt information. That is, in the present embodiment, the guide display is displayed and output based on at least the first tilt information.

<Guide display based on first tilt information>
As shown in FIG. 5, when the subject is inclined with respect to the measurement light on the tomographic plane, a tomographic image (see FIG. 6) in which each layer of the subject is inclined is acquired. Even if an unfamiliar operator confirms the observation image, it may be difficult to immediately operate the probe 2 so that the standard state is obtained.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, the control unit 30 changes the orientation of the probe 2 in the same phase (in the same direction) as the inclination of the subject in the tomographic image together with the tomographic image displayed on the display unit 41. The guide display 120 for guiding the operation to be performed is displayed based on the first tilt information. As a result, when the operator changes the direction of the probe 2 according to the guide display (that is, rotates around the axis of the probe 2), the measurement light and the subject can be made substantially orthogonal on the tomographic plane. As a result, a tomographic image can be taken as a standard state with respect to the inclination of the measurement light and the subject in the tomographic plane.

  The guide display 120 in the drawing is an arrow-shaped graphic. However, the guide display 120 does not necessarily have to be an arrow-shaped graphic. The guide display 120 may be any display that guides the operation according to the positional information between the probe 2 and the subject acquired by the control unit 30. An animation for rotating the probe 2 in the guiding direction (rotating around the axis of the probe 2) may be displayed as a guide display.

  The mode of the guide display 120 may be changed according to the remaining guidance amount with respect to the standard state. For example, in this embodiment, the smaller the difference from the standard state, the shorter the arrow may be displayed, or the smaller the arrow may be displayed.

  The first inclination information may be acquired as information indicating a dominant component of the luminance gradient in the entire tomographic image, for example. Since the luminance gradient in the tomographic image is dominated by the component in the direction orthogonal to the tomographic plane, the first gradient information may be acquired by analyzing the luminance gradient with respect to the tomographic image. The acquisition of the first inclination information is not necessarily limited to the luminance gradient analysis process. For example, the first tilt information may be acquired based on the result of image processing such as template matching. In the case of template matching, for example, a standard retinal template is prepared and matching is performed, and the first inclination information can be acquired based on the inclination of the template.

<Guide display based on second tilt information>
As shown in FIG. 7, when the measurement light and the subject are inclined with respect to the direction intersecting the tomographic plane, a tomographic image (see FIG. 8) in which the layer thickness of each layer of the subject is extended is acquired. In this case, it is possible to reduce the extension by tilting the probe 2. Therefore, the control unit 30 may display the guide display 120 for guiding the tilt of the probe 2 based on the layer thickness information of the tomographic image. In this case, the layer thickness information is detected as a kind of second inclination information. In this case, the detection processing of the layer thickness information includes at least segmentation of the tomographic image and measurement of the thickness of each layer divided by the segmentation. For example, when the value of the layer thickness detected by the thickness detection process is larger than the predetermined reference value of the layer thickness, the control unit 30 causes the display unit 41 to display the guide display 120. May be. The guide display 120 at this time may be a graphic for guiding a tilt operation. As an example, in FIG. 8, an arrow for urging tilt with respect to the tomographic plane is displayed as the guide display 120.

  However, it is considered difficult to detect the direction in which the measurement light is tilted with respect to the standard state only with the layer thickness information. Therefore, in addition to the layer thickness information, another type of information may be combined to specify the tilted direction, and the guide display 120 may be displayed. Various information can be considered as information to be combined. For example, when image data of an observation image is acquired by the surgical microscope 46, information on the tilt amount of the probe obtained from the image data is combined with layer thickness information, and the direction in which the measurement light is tilted with respect to the standard state is determined. It may be detected. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when the measurement light is tilted so that the measurement light is irradiated on the hand side with respect to the standard state, the image G by the aiming light is on the hand side on the surface of the subject. And is observed with the surgical microscope 46. In this case, a guide display 120 that prompts a tilt so that the distal end side of the probe 2 approaches the subject may be displayed. On the other hand, when the measurement light is tilted so that the measurement light is irradiated on the side away from the standard state with respect to the standard state, the image G by the aiming light is concave on the near side on the surface of the subject. Observed with the surgical microscope 46. In this case, a guide display 120 for urging the tilt to move the distal end side away from the subject relative to the proximal side of the probe 2 may be displayed.

  In addition, when the probe 2 is provided with an inclination sensor (for example, a gyro sensor), the detection signal of the inclination sensor may be combined with the layer thickness information.

<Other guide displays>
Also, as shown in FIG. 10, when the distance between the tip of the probe 2 and the surface of the subject is too far, the image area of the subject is reduced in the tomographic image. On the other hand, when almost the entire tomographic image is the image area of the subject, the probe 2 may be too close to the subject.

  Therefore, for example, the guide display 120 regarding the depth direction may be displayed based on position information regarding the depth direction of the subject in the tomographic image. The position information is compared with a preset reference position, and a guide display 120 is output based on the comparison result. For example, at this time, the position information may be position information on the surface of the subject. When the surface of the subject exists above the reference position, for example, a guide display 120 (for example, an upward arrow) that guides away from the reference position is displayed. Further, when the surface of the subject exists below the reference position, for example, a guide display 120 (for example, a downward arrow) that guides in the approaching direction may be displayed (see FIG. 11). The position information regarding the depth direction of the subject is not necessarily limited to the position information on the subject surface. For example, in the tomographic image or the OCT data, the distance between the tip of the probe 2 and the surface of the subject. Various correlated information can be used.

  When there are a plurality of operations of the probe 2 to be guided (for example, when two of the first tilt information and the second tilt information are detected as tilt information), the guide information 120 corresponding to each operation is simultaneously displayed. Alternatively, the display may be switched.

  As mentioned above, although this indication was explained based on an embodiment, it is not necessarily restricted to this and this indication contains various modifications to the above-mentioned embodiment.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the guide information is output as guide display (that is, as graphical information) has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, guide information may be output as information by voice or information by vibration.

  In the above embodiment, the present disclosure has been described by exemplifying an apparatus in which measurement light is scanned with respect to only one axis by an optical scanner. However, for an apparatus having an optical scanner that scans measurement light with respect to two different axes. Thus, the present disclosure may be applied. In this case, the probe 2 may have a two-dimensional optical scanner. The two-dimensional optical scanner may be a device that drives a single polarization unit two-dimensionally, or may be a combination of two or more one-dimensional optical scanners. In this case, when the measurement light is scanned two-dimensionally on the subject and the three-dimensional OCT data is acquired, the three-dimensional positional relationship between the subject and the probe 2 is based on the three-dimensional OCT data. Can be identified uniquely. Therefore, in this case, not only the first inclination information but also the second inclination information can be accurately acquired based on the OCT data. It is possible to display a guide display that uniquely guides the rotation and tilt around the axis of the probe 2 to the standard state.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical tomography apparatus 2 Probe 11 Light source 18 Motor 19 Detector 30 Control part 41 Display part 71 Deflection part E Eye to be examined

Claims (5)

Light that irradiates the subject with measurement light from a probe inserted into the subject, repeatedly scans the measurement light, and detects interference between the reflected light of the measurement light and the reference light by a detector A tomography apparatus,
The tomographic image of the subject is sequentially generated based on the signal from the detector and displayed in real time,
Control means for obtaining tilt information relating to the tilt of the subject with respect to the measurement light and outputting a guide for guiding the operation of the probe with respect to the subject based on the tilt information;
An optical tomography apparatus comprising:   The optical tomography apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit acquires the position information based on the sequentially generated tomographic images.   The control means acquires first inclination information related to the inclination of the subject and measurement light in the tomographic plane based on the tomographic image as at least part of the inclination information, and measures the subject and measurement in the tomographic plane. The optical tomography apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the guide that prompts an operation of rotating the probe about an axis so that an inclination with respect to light falls within a predetermined allowable range is output.   The control means further acquires second inclination information relating to the inclination of the subject and the measurement light in the direction intersecting the tomographic plane based on the tomographic image as at least part of the inclination information, and 4. The optical tomographic image according to claim 2, wherein the guide that prompts an operation of tilting the probe is output so that an inclination between the subject and the measurement light in a direction intersecting the plane falls within a predetermined allowable range. Shooting device. The control means acquires the position information including information related to a distance between the subject and the probe, and further guides the guide for prompting an operation for adjusting an interval of the probe with respect to the subject based on the distance information. 5. The optical tomography apparatus according to claim 2, which outputs the optical tomography apparatus.