JP2019062933A - Ophthalmologic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an ophthalmologic apparatus capable of appropriately monitoring a distance between a subject and a measuring head.SOLUTION: An ophthalmologic apparatus 10 includes: a measuring head in which an eye information acquisition part 21 for acquiring eye information on an eye to be examined is stored; a driving mechanism 15 for driving the measuring head so as to move it close to or away from a subject; and control parts 19R, 19L, and 27 for controlling the drive of the driving mechanism 15. The measuring head includes a convex part protruding to a subject side, and is provided with a proximity sensor 30 for detecting a distance between the subject and the convex part of the measuring head, and a notification part 29 for notifying when the distance measured by the proximity sensor 30 becomes a predetermined distance or less.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an ophthalmologic apparatus provided with a measurement head and a drive mechanism that drives the measurement head close to and away from a subject.

  An ophthalmologic apparatus as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 is known as an ophthalmologic apparatus provided with a measurement head and a drive mechanism that drives the measurement head so that the subject can move toward and away from the subject. There is.

  The conventional ophthalmologic apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a drive mechanism box and a pair of left and right body parts incorporating a measurement optical system. The main body is supported by the support. In the drive mechanism box, an XYZ drive mechanism is provided which drives the columns independently. Further, in the drive mechanism box, there is provided a rotational drive mechanism for independently driving the columns in the horizontal direction and in the opposite direction.

WO 2003/041571

  However, since the conventional ophthalmologic apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 has no means for detecting the distance between the main body and the subject, the examiner who operates the drive mechanism box appropriately It was necessary to visually recognize the distance to the subject. In particular, when the examiner remotely operates the ophthalmologic apparatus, it is difficult for the examiner to visually recognize the distance between the main body and the subject.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an ophthalmologic apparatus capable of appropriately monitoring the distance between a subject and a measuring head.

  In order to achieve the above object, the ophthalmologic apparatus of the present invention drives a measurement head in which a measurement optical system for acquiring eye information of an eye to be examined is stored, and the measurement head can be moved close to and away from the subject And a control unit for controlling the drive of the drive mechanism, and the measurement head has a convex portion projecting toward the subject, and further, between the subject and the convex portion of the measurement head A proximity sensor that detects a distance, and a notification unit that notifies when the distance measured by the proximity sensor becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance.

  Here, the measurement optical system includes an imaging unit capable of capturing a face image of the subject, and the notification unit is configured to notify based on the recognition result of the face image captured by the imaging unit. it can.

  Further, the ophthalmologic apparatus can be disposed in a single facility, and the notification unit and the ophthalmologic apparatus can be configured to be communicable with each other via a communication line.

  Furthermore, the control unit can be configured to stop driving of the drive mechanism when the distance measured by the proximity sensor becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance.

  The measurement heads can be configured to be provided in pairs so as to individually correspond to the left and right subject eyes of the subject.

  In the ophthalmologic apparatus of the present invention thus configured, the measurement head has a convex portion protruding toward the subject, and the proximity sensor detects a distance between the subject and the convex portion of the measurement head; And a notification unit for notifying when the distance measured by the proximity sensor becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance.

  Therefore, since the distance between the convex portion of the measurement head and the subject can be detected by the proximity sensor, the distance between the subject and the measurement head can be appropriately monitored.

  Here, the measurement optical system includes an imaging unit capable of capturing a face image of the subject, and the notification unit also notifies based on the recognition result of the face image captured by the imaging unit, so the subject The distance between the sensor and the measuring head can also be monitored based on the recognition result of the face image, and the monitor result can be made more reliable.

  In addition, since the ophthalmologic apparatus is disposed in the measurement head and a single facility, and the notification unit and the ophthalmologic apparatus can communicate with each other by the communication line, even when the examiner operates the ophthalmologic apparatus outside the facility It is possible to properly monitor the distance between the subject and the measuring head.

  Furthermore, since the control unit stops driving of the drive mechanism when the distance measured by the proximity sensor becomes equal to or less than the predetermined distance, in addition to appropriately monitoring the distance between the subject and the measuring head Thus, the contact between the subject and the measuring head can be suppressed.

  And, since the measurement heads are provided in pairs so as to individually correspond to the left and right subject eyes of the subject, the distance between the subject and the pair of measurement heads should be properly monitored. Is possible.

It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of the ophthalmologic apparatus which is this Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the measurement head part of the ophthalmologic apparatus which is this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the optical system of the ophthalmologic apparatus which is this Embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an ophthalmologic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system of the ophthalmologic apparatus which is this Embodiment.

An ophthalmologic apparatus according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. First, the overall configuration of the ophthalmologic apparatus 10 will be described.
(Overall configuration of the ophthalmologic apparatus)

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ophthalmologic apparatus 10 includes a base 11, an optometry table 12, a support 13, an arm 14, a drive mechanism 15, and a pair of measurement heads 16. In the ophthalmologic apparatus 10, in a state in which the subject directly facing the optometry table 12 is in contact with the forehead portion 17 provided between the two measurement heads 16, information of the subject's eye to be examined is acquired. Note that, as described in FIG. 1 throughout this specification, the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis are taken, the lateral direction is the X direction, and the vertical direction (vertical direction) is the Y direction, viewed from the subject. The direction orthogonal to the Y direction (the depth direction of the measurement head 16) is taken as the Z direction.

  The optometry table 12 is a desk for placing an examiner's controller 25 and a subject's controller 26 described later and placing a unit used for optometry, and is supported by the base 11. The optometry table 12 may be supported by the base 11 so that the position (height position) in the Y direction can be adjusted.

  The support 13 is supported by the base 11 so as to extend in the Y direction at the rear end of the optometry table 12, and an arm 14 is provided at the tip.

  The arm 14 suspends both measurement heads 16 via the drive mechanism 15 on the optometry table 12 and extends in the Z direction from the support 13 toward the near side. The arm 14 is movable in the Y direction with respect to the support 13. The arm 14 may be movable in the X direction and the Z direction with respect to the support 13. At the tip of the arm 14, a pair of measuring heads 16 are supported by being suspended by a drive mechanism 15.

  The measurement heads 16 are provided in pairs to individually correspond to the left and right subject eyes of the subject, and in the following description, the measurement heads 16L for the left eye and the measurement heads 16R for the right eye will be separately described. . The left-eye measurement head 16L acquires information on the subject's left eye to be examined, and the right-eye measurement head 16R acquires information on the subject's right eye. The left-eye measurement head 16L and the right-eye measurement head 16R are configured to be plane-symmetrical with respect to a vertical plane located between the two in the X direction.

  Each measuring head 16 is provided with a mirror 18 which is a deflecting member, and through the mirror 18, information of the corresponding eye to be examined is acquired by an eye information acquiring unit (measuring optical system) 21 described later.

  Each measurement head 16 is an eye information acquisition unit 21 for acquiring eye information of the subject's eye (in the individual case, the right eye eye information acquisition unit 21R and the left eye eye information acquisition unit 21L (see FIG. 5) ) Is provided. The eye information includes an image of the subject's eye, an image of the fundus of the subject's eye, a tomographic image of the retina of the subject's eye, a corneal endothelium image of the subject's eye, refractive power of the subject's eye, cornea shape of the subject's eye, It refers to the intraocular pressure of the eye to be examined. Each eye information acquisition unit 21 measures the refractive power, a visual acuity inspection apparatus that performs visual acuity inspection while switching the target to be presented, a switching lens for correction, and a phoropter that acquires appropriate correction refractive power of the eye to be examined A refractometer or wavefront sensor, a fundus camera for capturing an image of the fundus, a tomographic imaging apparatus (OCT) for capturing a tomographic image of the retina, a specular microscope for capturing a corneal endothelium image, a keratometer for measuring a corneal shape, intraocular pressure A tonometer or the like to be measured is configured singly or in combination.

  Each eye information acquisition unit 21 is provided with an optical system such as a fixation projection system, an observation system, an alignment detection system, and a measurement system, and each optical system is appropriately provided with a light source, a sensor, a drive unit and the like.

  The fixation projection system presents a fixation target to the subject's eye and fixes the visual axis of the subject's eye. The observation system photographs the anterior segment of the eye to be examined and displays the image (observation image) on the display unit or a connected external device. This makes it possible to check the state of the subject's eye, and to obtain alignment information in the direction (X and Y directions) orthogonal to the optical axis based on the reference point (pupil, iris, etc.) in the image and the projected target image. To be possible.

  The alignment detection system acquires alignment information in the optical axis direction (Z direction (working distance direction)) of each eye information acquisition unit 21 and alignment information in the XY directions. The alignment information is information used for alignment (alignment) of the eye information acquisition unit 21 with the eye to be examined.

  The measurement system irradiates the subject eye with a light flux for acquiring the eye characteristic of the subject eye and receives the reflected light to acquire the eye characteristic.

  Both measuring heads 16 are movably suspended by a drive mechanism 15 provided on a base portion 19 suspended from the tip of the arm 14. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the drive mechanism 15 is a left eye vertical drive unit 22L corresponding to the left eye measurement head 16L, a left eye horizontal drive unit 23L, and a left eye rotation drive unit 24L. And a right eye vertical drive unit 22R corresponding to the right eye measurement head 16R, a right eye horizontal drive unit 23R, and a right eye rotation drive unit 24R.

  The configuration of each drive unit corresponding to the left-eye measurement head 16L and the configuration of each drive unit corresponding to the right-eye measurement head 16R are plane symmetrical with respect to the vertical plane located between them in the X direction They are simply referred to as the vertical drive 22, the horizontal drive 23 and the rotation drive 24 except when individually described.

  The vertical drive unit 22 is provided between the base unit 19 and the horizontal drive unit 23, and moves the horizontal drive unit 23 in the Y direction (vertical direction) with respect to the base unit 19. The horizontal drive unit 23 is provided between the vertical drive unit 22 and the rotation drive unit 24 and moves the rotation drive unit 24 in the X direction and the Z direction (horizontal direction) with respect to the vertical drive unit 22.

  The vertical drive unit 22 and the horizontal drive unit 23 are provided with an actuator that generates a driving force such as a pulse motor, and a transmission mechanism that transmits a driving force such as a combination of gears and a rack and pinion. Is configured. The horizontal drive unit 23 can be easily configured and control of movement in the horizontal direction can be facilitated, for example, by separately providing a combination of an actuator and a transmission mechanism in the X direction and the Z direction.

  The rotation drive unit 24 rotates the corresponding measurement head 16 with respect to the horizontal drive unit 23 around the eyeball rotation axis of the corresponding subject eye. For example, as a configuration in which the transmission mechanism receiving the driving force from the actuator moves along the arc-shaped guide groove, the center position of the guide groove is matched with the eye rotation axis, for example. The measurement head 16 is rotated about the eyeball rotation axis of

  In addition, while the rotational drive unit 24 supports the measurement head 16 so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis provided to itself, the rotational drive unit 24 rotates while changing the position of supporting the measurement head 16 in cooperation with the horizontal drive unit 23. Good.

  Thereby, the drive mechanism 15 moves the measurement heads 16 in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction in addition to moving the measurement head 16 individually or interlockingly with respect to the subject so as to be approachable and separable. And can be rotated about the eyeball rotation axis of the eye to be examined.

  Further, in the ophthalmologic apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the proximity sensor 30 is provided on the convex portion 16 a that protrudes to the subject side (front direction in the figure) of both measuring heads 16. There is. The proximity sensor 30 detects the distance between the subject and the convex portion 16a.

  The proximity sensor 30 is not particularly limited as long as it is a sensor capable of detecting the distance between the subject and the convex portion 16a, and for example, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, a photoelectric sensor, etc. Any proximity sensor can be suitably applied. In addition, a touch sensor such as a tape switch or a mat switch that detects that the subject is in contact with the convex portion 16a may be included in the proximity sensor 30 mentioned here.

  Further, the position at which the proximity sensor 30 is disposed can also be appropriately selected in accordance with the shape of the measurement head 16. The convex portion 16 a protruding to the subject side of the measurement head 16 is driven in a direction in which the measurement head 16 approaches and separates from the subject when acquiring eye information of the subject's eye by the eye information acquisition unit 21. This is a place where the possibility of proximity to the subject is high. Therefore, by arranging the proximity sensor 30 on the convex portion 16a, the distance between the measurement head 16 and the subject can be properly monitored, and the position between the measurement head 16 and the subject (mainly the face portion) It is possible to avoid the situation of contact.

  The proximity sensor 30 may be provided other than the convex portion 16 a, and as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of proximity sensors 30 may be provided on a single measuring head 16. Furthermore, the projection 16 a and the flat portion of the measurement head 16 may be provided in combination. As described above, in the case where the plurality of proximity sensors 30 are provided on the single measurement head 16 (in a combined manner), the notification form by the notification unit 29 may be changed for each proximity sensor 30.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the ophthalmologic apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is provided with a camera (imaging unit) 32 capable of capturing a face image of a subject under examination. The camera 32 is suspended from the base 19 by support means (not shown), and is behind the mirror 18 of both measuring heads 16 in the Z direction (horizontal direction) back side of the measuring head 16 as viewed from the subject. It is located between.

  The position and imaging range of the camera 32 are adjusted such that at least a part of the face of the subject under examination can be imaged.

(Optical system of ophthalmologic apparatus)
FIG. 3 is a view showing a schematic configuration of an optical system of the ophthalmologic apparatus according to the present embodiment. Since the configuration of the left-eye eye information acquisition unit 21L is the same as that of the right-eye eye information acquisition unit 21R, the description thereof will be omitted, and only the right-eye eye information acquisition unit 21R will be described.

  The right-eye eye information acquisition unit 21R has an alignment detection system 31 as shown in FIG. As described above, the alignment detection system 31 acquires alignment information in the optical axis direction (Z direction (working distance direction)) of the right-eye eye information acquisition unit 21R.

  The alignment detection system 31 includes a pair of stereo cameras (imaging units) 31a and 31b. The stereo cameras 31a and 31b can capture an anterior segment of the eye ER.

  The control unit 27 or the examiner moves the measuring head 16 in the optical axis direction based on the anterior segment of the subject eye ER captured by the stereo cameras 31a and 31b, thereby moving in the direction along the optical axis of the observation system Alignment).

(Control system of ophthalmologic apparatus)
The base 11 is provided with a control unit 27 that controls each part of the ophthalmologic apparatus 10 as a whole (see FIG. 1), and the base unit 19 is provided with a drive mechanism 15 provided in the base unit 19 and measurement. Head control units (control units) 19R and 19L for controlling the head 16 are provided (see FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 5, the head control units 19R and 19L are connected to the above-described eye information acquisition unit 21, the vertical drive unit 22 as the drive mechanism 15, the horizontal drive unit 23, and the rotation drive unit 24, In the unit 27, the controller 25 for the examiner, the controller 26 for the subject, the storage unit 28, the proximity sensor 30, the notification unit 29, and the camera 32 are connected.

  The examiner controller 25 is used by the examiner to operate the ophthalmologic apparatus 10. Further, the examiner controller 25 has a display means (not shown), and the display means displays the eye information of the subject acquired by the eye information acquisition unit 21 and the image captured by the camera 32. The subject controller 26 is used by the subject to respond when obtaining various types of eye information of the subject's eye. The control unit 27 is connected to the examiner's controller 25 and the examinee's controller 26 via a wired or wireless communication line.

  The control unit 27 develops the program stored in the connected storage unit 28 or the built-in internal memory 27a, for example, on the RAM, thereby appropriately responding to the operation on the examiner's controller 25 or the subject's controller 26. The operation of the ophthalmologic apparatus 10 is centrally controlled. In the present embodiment, the internal memory 27a is configured by a RAM or the like, and the storage unit 28 is configured by a ROM, an EEPROM or the like.

  The ophthalmologic apparatus 10 automatically performs alignment under the control of the head control units 19R and 19L and the control unit 27 to acquire eye information of an eye to be examined. In detail, the head control units 19R and 19L operate the eye information acquisition unit 21 (its alignment detection system 31 and the like) and the drive mechanism 15 (vertical drive unit 22, horizontal drive unit 23, and rotation drive unit 24), Based on the alignment information from the alignment detection system 31 or the like, alignment in the XYZ directions of the eye information acquisition unit 21 (measuring head 16) with respect to the corresponding eye to be examined is performed.

  Thereafter, the head control units 19R and 19L appropriately drive the eye information acquiring unit 21 to acquire various eye information of the eye to be examined. In the ophthalmologic apparatus 10, the eye information acquiring unit 21 is aligned with the eye to be examined by operating the controller 25 for the examiner manually, that is, the examiner operates the eye information acquiring unit 21 to perform various eyes of the eye to be examined. You can get information.

  In the ophthalmologic apparatus 10, when acquiring various types of eye information of the subject's eye, the subject can respond by operating the subject controller 26 to assist acquisition of various types of eye information of the subject's eye .

  In addition, at least one of the head control units 19R and 19L and the control unit 27 performs at least the driving mechanism 15 when the measurement head 16 is moved in the XYZ directions along with the eye information acquisition operation of the eye to be examined by the eye information acquisition unit 21. The distance between the subject measured by the proximity sensor 30 and the convex portion 16a of the measurement head 16 is monitored, and when the distance becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance, the notification unit 29 notifies.

  The notification unit 29 determines that the distance between the subject measured by the proximity sensor 30 and the convex portion 16 a of the measuring head 16 is at least at least for the examiner of the ophthalmologic apparatus 10 and the subject. The notification method is not particularly limited as long as it can notify that the distance is equal to or less than the distance. As an example, flashing of a warning color lamp such as red provided on the top of the measuring head 16, ringing of a buzzer and the like can be mentioned. In addition, the notification unit 29 may be provided in the controller 25 for the examiner. Furthermore, as described above, the display unit of the examiner controller 25 may blink, for example, the captured image may be blinked by the camera 32, or a specific display may be performed.

  In addition, at least one of the head control units 19R and 19L and the control unit 27 recognizes the face image of the subject taken by the camera 32, and notifies by the notification unit 29 also on the basis of the recognition result of the face image. It is also good. However, the recognition result of the face image is only an auxiliary one, and the distance between the subject and the measuring head 16 can not always be strictly detected only by the recognition result of the face image. However, based on the recognition result of the face image, it can be grasped how close the subject and the measuring head 16 are approximately. For example, according to the recognition result of the face image, the face of the subject It is preferable to perform an operation such as starting detection by the proximity sensor 30 by detecting that the sensor is approaching the measuring head 16. In addition, the notification unit 29 may notify in consideration of the anterior eye image of the subject taken by the stereo cameras 31a and 31b of the alignment detection system 31.

Furthermore, when at least one of the head control units 19R and 19L and the control unit 27 determines that the distance between the subject measured by the proximity sensor 30 and the convex portion 16a of the measuring head 16 is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, The drive of the measurement head 16 by the drive mechanism 15 may be stopped.
(Effect of ophthalmologic device)

  The ophthalmologic apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment configured as described above has the convex portion 16 a in which the measuring head 16 protrudes to the subject side, and between the subject and the convex portion 16 a of the measuring head 16. A proximity sensor 30 that detects a distance, and a notification unit 29 that notifies when the distance measured by the proximity sensor 30 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance.

  Therefore, since the proximity sensor 30 can detect the distance between the convex portion 16a of the measurement head 16 and the subject, the distance between the subject and the measurement head 16 can be appropriately monitored. It becomes.

  Here, the eye information acquisition unit 21 has the camera 32 capable of capturing the face image of the subject, and the notification unit 29 also reports based on the recognition result of the face image captured by the camera 32. The distance between the subject and the measuring head 16 can also be monitored based on the recognition result of the face image, and the monitoring result can be made more reliable.

  Furthermore, since the control unit 27 stops the drive of the drive mechanism 15 when the distance measured by the proximity sensor 30 becomes equal to or less than the predetermined distance, the distance between the subject and the measurement head 16 is properly monitored. In addition to the above, contact between the subject and the measuring head 16 can be suppressed.

  And since the measurement head 16 is provided in pairs so as to correspond individually to the left and right subject eyes of the subject, the distance between the subject and the pair of measurement heads 16 is properly monitored. It is possible to

  As mentioned above, although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to the embodiment and the example, and a design change which does not deviate from the scope of the present invention. Is included in the present invention.

  As one example, although the ophthalmologic apparatus 10 is integrally configured in the above embodiment, the ophthalmologic apparatus 10 is provided in a single facility, while the notification unit 29 is provided outside the facility, and the notification unit 29 and the ophthalmologic apparatus 10 may be configured to be communicable by a communication line.

  Even with such a configuration, it is possible to appropriately monitor the distance between the subject and the measuring head 16.

ER eye to be examined 10 ophthalmologic apparatus 15 drive mechanism 16 measuring head 16a convex part 19R, 19L head control part (control part)
21 Eye Information Acquisition Unit (Measurement Optical System)
27 control unit 29 notification unit 30 proximity sensor 31a, 31b stereo camera (imaging unit)
32 Camera (imaging unit)

Claims (5)

A measurement head containing a measurement optical system for acquiring eye information of an eye to be examined, a drive mechanism for driving the measurement head so as to be able to approach and move away from the subject, and a control unit for controlling the drive of the drive mechanism In an ophthalmologic apparatus having
The measuring head has a convex portion protruding toward the subject,
Having a proximity sensor that detects a distance between the subject and the convex portion of the measurement head, and a notification unit that notifies when the distance measured by the proximity sensor becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance. An ophthalmologic apparatus to be characterized. The measurement optical system includes an imaging unit capable of capturing a face image of the subject.
The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies also on the basis of a recognition result of the face image captured by the imaging unit.   The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ophthalmologic apparatus is disposed in a single facility, and the notification unit and the ophthalmologic apparatus can communicate with each other via a communication line.   The ophthalmologic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit stops driving of the drive mechanism when the distance measured by the proximity sensor becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance. The ophthalmologic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the measurement heads are provided in pairs so as to individually correspond to the left and right eyes of the subject.