JP2020103424A - Ophthalmologic apparatus and ophthalmologic apparatus control method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an ophthalmologic apparatus which allows widening a range in which a fixation lamp can be turned on, without restriction by a scan detection position.SOLUTION: The ophthalmologic apparatus comprises: a fixation lamp; a scanning unit for main scanning of light from the fixation lamp on the eyeground of a subject eye; a detection unit for detecting the reference position of the main scanning by the scanning unit; and a control unit for controlling the fixation lamp with reference to the detection timing of the reference position by the detection unit. The control unit controls the fixation lamp with reference to the detection timing in a past main scanning.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an ophthalmologic apparatus and a method for controlling the ophthalmologic apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Currently, an SLO (Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope) device is widely used as one of ophthalmic devices. The SLO device is a detection device that irradiates the fundus with light through a scanning optical system and detects the intensity of light reflected/scattered from the fundus through a confocal optical system, in order to observe the fundus. Used for.

As an ophthalmologic apparatus that scans light on an eye to be inspected, an apparatus using optical coherence tomography (OCT) that utilizes interference due to low coherent light (OCT apparatus) has been put into practical use. ..

When observing the eye to be inspected using such an ophthalmologic apparatus, it is desired to suppress the involuntary eye movement of the eye to observe with high accuracy. Patent Document 1 discloses a fixation lamp having a predetermined pattern by turning on a light source of the fixation lamp at a predetermined scanning position when scanning the light of the fixation lamp on the fundus with the scanning optical system of SLO. An SLO device for illuminating the fundus of the eye is disclosed. By allowing the subject to fixate the fixation light of a predetermined pattern irradiated on the fundus of the eye, it is possible to suppress microscopic fixation.

In such an SLO device, generally, in order to turn on the fixation lamp at a predetermined scanning position, a scanning reference position is detected for each main scanning, and the fixation lamp lighting control is performed for each main scanning with reference to the detection timing. Has started.

JP, 2014-188187, A

However, the later the detection timing of the scanning reference position, the later the start timing of the lighting control of the fixation lamp, and the narrower the range in which the fixation lamp can be lit during main scanning. That is, the range in which the fixation lamp can be turned on is limited by the scanning detection position (the detected scanning reference position), and the range in which the fixation of the subject can be guided becomes narrow.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ophthalmologic apparatus that can widen the range in which the fixation lamp can be turned on without being limited by the scanning detection position.

An ophthalmologic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention detects a fixation lamp, a scanning unit that performs main scanning with light from the fixation lamp on a fundus of an eye to be inspected, and a reference position for main scanning by the scanning unit. A detection unit and a control unit that controls the fixation lamp with reference to the detection timing of the reference position by the detection unit, wherein the control unit controls the fixation lamp with reference to the detection timing in the previous main scanning. Control.

According to the present invention, the range in which the fixation lamp can be turned on can be widened without being limited by the scanning detection position.

1 shows a schematic configuration example inside an SLO device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a detection unit according to the first embodiment. 1 shows a schematic configuration example of a control unit according to the first embodiment. 3 shows an example of a timing chart for controlling the fixation lamp according to the first embodiment. 3 shows a schematic configuration example of a control unit according to a second embodiment. 9 shows an example of a timing chart for fixation lamp control and SLO data sampling according to the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positions of constituent elements, and the like described in the following embodiments are arbitrary, and can be changed according to the configuration of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied or various conditions. Also, in the drawings, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings to denote the same or functionally similar elements.

(Example 1)
Hereinafter, an SLO apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 as an example of an ophthalmologic apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, particularly an ophthalmologic apparatus that scans light on a fundus of an eye to be inspected. The ophthalmologic apparatus according to the present embodiment is not limited to the SLO apparatus, and the configuration according to the present embodiment can be applied to general ophthalmologic apparatuses that scan the eye to be inspected, such as the OCT apparatus.

The SLO device according to the present embodiment controls the lighting of the fixation lamp in the current main scan with reference to the detection timing of the scan reference position in the previous main scan. By using the SLO device according to the present embodiment, the range in which the fixation lamp can be turned on can be widened without being limited to the scanning detection position.

<Structure of SLO device>
First, the configuration of the SLO device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration example of the inside of the SLO device according to the present embodiment. The SLO device 1 is provided with an optical system 100 and a control unit 130.

<Structure of the optical system 100>
In the optical system 100, the objective lens 101-1 is arranged so as to face the eye 140 to be inspected, and the optical path from the objective lens 101-1 is the optical path L1 of the anterior ocular segment observation system on the optical axis of the dichroic mirror 102. Each wavelength band is branched into the optical path L2 of the fixation lamp and the SLO optical system. In this embodiment, the optical path L1 is arranged in the transmitting direction of the dichroic mirror 102, and the optical path L2 is arranged in the reflecting direction. The optical path L2 may be arranged in the transmission direction of the dichroic mirror 102 and the optical path L1 may be arranged in the reflection direction.

Lenses 122 and 123 and a CCD 124 for fundus observation are provided in the optical path L1. The optical path L1 is an optical path through which reflected light from the fundus of the eye to be inspected 140 passes through the lenses 122 and 123 and is received by the CCD 124 for fundus observation for the light emitted from the anterior eye observation illumination light (not shown). The CCD 124 is a sensor having a sensitivity near the wavelength of illumination light for anterior eye observation (not shown), specifically, around 970 nm. The CCD 124 sends a signal based on the received reflected light to the control unit 130, and the control unit 130 can generate an observation image of the anterior segment of the subject's eye 140 based on the signal received from the CCD 124.

The optical path L2 is provided with a mirror 111, a lens 101-2, a polygon scanner 103, a galvano scanner 104, lenses 107 and 105, a mirror 106, a dichroic mirror 108, a fixation lamp 109, an SLO light source 110, and an APD 112. The optical path L2 is an optical path for causing the light from the SLO light source 110 and the fixation lamp 109 to enter the fundus of the eye 140 to be inspected, and the reflected light from the fundus to enter the SLO optical system.

The SLO light source 110 (observation light source) is an observation light source for fundus imaging having a center value of the wavelength of emitted light in the vicinity of 780 nm. An APD (Avalanche Photo Diode) 112 (light receiving unit) is a light receiving sensor for fundus imaging having a sensitivity near a wavelength of 780 nm. The fixation lamp 109 is used to generate visible light and promote the fixation of the subject. It should be noted that the specific numerical values of the wavelengths in the present specification are examples, and other numerical values may be used.

The dichroic mirror 108 splits the optical path L2 into an optical path to the fixation lamp 109 and an optical path to the SLO light source 110 for each wavelength band. In this embodiment, the fixation lamp 109 is arranged in the transmission direction of the dichroic mirror 108, and the SLO light source 110 is arranged in the reflection direction. The SLO light source 110 may be arranged in the transmission direction of the dichroic mirror 108 and the fixation lamp 109 may be arranged in the reflection direction.

The mirror 106 is a prism in which a perforated mirror or a hollow mirror is vapor-deposited, and separates the illumination light from the SLO light source 110 and the light from the fixation lamp 109 and the return light from the eye 140 to be inspected. Specifically, the mirror 106 allows the illumination light from the SLO light source 110 and the light from the fixation lamp 109 to pass therethrough, reflects the return light of the illumination light from the eye 140 to be guided to the ADP 112. The ADP 112 may be provided in the passing direction of the mirror 106, and the dichroic mirror 108, the SLO light source 110, and the fixation lamp 109 may be provided in the reflecting direction.

The lens 107 is a focusing lens, and is driven by a motor (not shown) controlled by the control unit 130 in the optical axis direction indicated by an arrow in the figure for adjusting the focus of light passing through the optical path L2. The light beams emitted from the fixation lamp 109 and the SLO light source 110 both form an image once near the polygon scanner 103 and the galvano scanner 104, and again form an image near the fundus of the eye 140 to be examined. The lens 107 is driven by a motor (not shown) so that the second imaging position of these light fluxes coincides with the fundus of the eye 140 to be inspected.

The polygon scanner 103 and the galvano scanner 104 form a scanning unit. The polygon scanner 103 (scanning unit) scans (main scans) the light from the SLO light source 110 and the fixation lamp 109 in the X direction. The galvano scanner 104 scans (sub-scans) these lights in the Y direction. By interlocking with the polygon scanner 103 and scanning these lights in the Y direction by the galvano scanner 104, the fundus of the eye can be two-dimensionally scanned. Here, the polygon scanner 103 and the galvano scanner 104 may be configured using a deflection unit such as a resonance scanner or a galvano scanner according to a desired configuration. Further, the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction are not limited to the X direction and the Y direction, and may be set to any directions orthogonal to the Z direction (depth direction) and intersecting each other. In this case, the polygon scanner 103 and the galvano scanner 104 can be arranged according to a desired scanning direction.

The return light from the fundus of the illumination light that has entered the optical path L2 is reflected by the mirror 106 and detected by the APD 112. The APD 112 sends a signal based on the detected light to the control unit 130. The control unit 130 can generate a fundus front image of the subject's eye 140 based on the signal received from the APD 112.

Further, the optical system 100 is provided with a detection unit 150 (scanning reference position detection unit). The detection unit 150 irradiates the polygon scanner 103 with light, detects the reflected light from the polygon scanner 103, and generates a detection signal regarding the reference position for main scanning by the polygon scanner 103.

<Detection method of scanning reference position>
Next, the detection unit 150 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2C are explanatory views of the configuration and arrangement of the detection unit 150. In FIGS. 2A to 2C, the optical path L2 is shown by a one-dot chain line, and the optical path L3 is shown by a broken line. As shown in FIG. 2A, the detection unit 150 is provided with a detection light source 201 and a detection PD (Photo Diode) 202.

The light emitted from the detection light source 201 is applied to the polygon scanner 103 and reflected. The detection PD 202 detects the light from the detection light source 201 reflected by the polygon scanner 103. The optical path L3 indicates the optical path of the light emitted from the detection light source 201. The optical axis of the optical path L3 is oriented so that the light from the detection light source 201 is incident on the mirror of the polygon scanner 103 at an angle with respect to the XY plane. Accordingly, the detection unit 150 can be configured so that the light from the detection light source 201 does not enter the optical path L2.

Here, the polygon scanner 103 according to the present embodiment rotates so as to scan the light from the SLO light source 110 in the X direction (main scanning direction). Therefore, the light from the detection light source 201 entering the polygon scanner 103 is also scanned in the X direction according to the rotation of the polygon scanner 103. Therefore, the reflected light from the polygon scanner 103 regarding the light from the detection light source 201 enters the detection PD 202 only when the rotation angle of the polygon scanner 103 reaches a specific angle.

For example, FIG. 2B shows the optical paths L2 and L3 when the rotation angle of the polygon scanner 103 is α. In this case, the detection PD 202 receives (detects) the light of the optical path L3. On the other hand, FIG. 2C shows the optical paths L2 and L3 when the rotation angle of the polygon scanner 103 is β, and in this case, the detection PD 202 does not receive the light of the optical path L3.

FIG. 2D shows the main scanning position 211 on the fundus of the eye 140 to be inspected by the polygon scanner 103 and the detection signal 212 output from the detection PD 202. The position P1 shows the scanning position when the rotation angle of the polygon scanner 103 shown in FIG. 2B is α, and the position P2 shows the scanning position when the rotation angle of the polygon scanner 103 shown in FIG. 2C is β. The position is shown. In FIG. 2D, the horizontal axis of each graph represents time and the vertical axis represents position or signal strength.

As shown in FIG. 2D, the detection PD 202 outputs a detection signal 212 when the rotation angle of the polygon scanner 103 is α, and a detection signal when the rotation angle is other than α, such as when the rotation angle is β. 212 is not output. In this way, the detection PD 202 outputs the detection signal 212 for the reference position (position P1) of the main scanning for each mirror surface of the polygon scanner 103, that is, for each main scanning.

<Configuration of control unit>
Next, the configuration of the control unit 130 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration example of the control unit 130. The control unit 130 includes a synchronization signal generation unit 301, a fixation lamp clock generation unit 302, a line number counter 304, a fixation lamp control unit 305, and a memory unit 307.

The synchronization signal generation unit 301 is connected to the detection unit 150, the fixation lamp clock generation unit 302, and the line number counter 304. The synchronization signal generation unit 301 generates a synchronization signal 320 based on the detection signal 310 output from the detection PD 202 of the detection unit 150, and outputs the synchronization signal 320 to the fixation lamp clock generation unit 302 and the line number counter 304. Therefore, the synchronization signal generation unit 301 can generate the synchronization signal 320 from the detection signal 310 based on the main scanning reference position of the polygon scanner 103. The sync signal generator 301 can be configured using any sync signal generator or circuit.

The fixation light clock generation unit 302 is connected to the synchronization signal generation unit 301 and the fixation light control unit 305, and generates the fixation light clock 340 based on the synchronization signal 320 from the synchronization signal generation unit 301, It is output to the fixation lamp control unit 305. The fixation lamp clock generation unit 302 can be configured using any clock oscillator or circuit.

The line number counter 304 is connected to the synchronization signal generation unit 301 and the fixation lamp control unit 305, counts the main scanning line number 330 based on the synchronization signal 320 from the synchronization signal generation unit 301, and counts the lines. The number 330 is output to the fixation lamp control unit 305. The line number counter 304 can be configured using any counter or circuit.

The fixation lamp control unit 305 is connected to the fixation lamp clock generation unit 302, the line number counter 304, the fixation lamp 109, and the memory unit 307. The fixation lamp control unit 305 reads the fixation lamp lighting pattern 350 from the memory unit 307. In addition, the fixation lamp control unit 305 sets the read fixation lamp lighting pattern 350, the fixation lamp clock 340 output from the fixation lamp clock generation unit 302, and the line number 330 output from the line number counter 304. Accordingly, the turning on and off of the fixation lamp 109 is controlled. The fixation lamp control unit 305 can be configured by a module executed by the CPU or MPU of the control unit 130. In addition, the fixation lamp control unit 305 may be configured by a circuit or the like that realizes a specific function such as an ASIC.

The memory unit 307 can store various programs such as the fixation lamp lighting pattern 350 and the control of the optical system 100. The memory unit 307 can be configured using any storage device/storage medium such as a memory or an optical disk.

Although the control unit 130 can be configured using a general-purpose computer, it may be configured as a dedicated computer for the SLO device 1. Further, the configuration example of the control unit 130 shown in FIG. 3 is a schematic one, and the control unit 130 can include a drive control unit, a display control unit, and the like (not shown). For example, the control unit 130 can generate a fundus front image based on the signal output from the APD 112 and display the image on the display unit (not shown).

<Fixing light control method>
A fixation lamp control method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows an example of a timing chart for controlling the fixation lamp according to the present embodiment. In each graph of FIG. 4, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents position, signal strength, or data or the presence or absence of processing.

When the main scanning position 400 of the nth line by the polygon scanner 103 reaches the reference position P3, the detection PD 202 detects the light from the detection light source 201 reflected by the polygon scanner 103 and generates a detection signal 410. The detection unit 150 outputs the generated detection signal 410 to the synchronization signal generation unit 301.

When the detection signal 410 of the nth line is input, the synchronization signal generation unit 301 generates the synchronization signal 420 of the nth line. The synchronization signal generation unit 301 outputs the generated synchronization signal 420 to the line number counter 304 and the fixation lamp clock generation unit 302.

When the synchronizing signal 420 of the nth line is input, the line number counter 304 counts up the line number 430 of the main scanning from n−1 and sets the line number 430 to n. The line number counter 304 outputs the counted line number 430 to the fixation lamp control unit 305.

When the synchronization signal 420 of the nth line is input, the fixation light clock generation unit 302 waits for the time td1 and then outputs the fixation light clock 440 to the fixation light control unit 305 a predetermined number of times. Here, the time td1 is the waiting time from the input of the synchronization signal 420 to the fixation lamp lighting range in the next main scanning line, and when the time td1 is changed, the fixation lamp 109 for the fundus of the eye 140 to be inspected. The lighting range (position) of changes. This time td1 can be an adjustment value determined by adjusting the lighting position of the fixation lamp 109 during assembly and manufacturing.

The lighting range based on the time td1 does not mean the lighting range according to the fixation lamp lighting pattern but the effective range of the lighting control of the fixation lamp 109 in each line. In the present embodiment, based on the assumed device design, as shown in FIG. 4, the lighting range determined by the time td1 does not start from the start position of the main scanning of the (n+1)th line but starts from a position slightly advanced in scanning. ing. However, the lighting range determined by the time td1 is not limited to this. The lighting range determined by the time td1 may be adjusted between the start position and the end position of each main scanning line according to the desired device design.

The fixation lamp control unit 305 (control unit) waits for a time td1 from the input timing of the synchronization signal 420 of the nth line to the fixation lamp clock generation unit 302, and then receives the fixation lamp clock 440 output a predetermined number of times. .. The fixation lamp control unit 305 controls the turning on and off of the fixation lamp 109 at the timing of the fixation lamp clock 440 according to the fixation lamp lighting pattern 450 on the (n+1)th line read from the memory unit 307.

Here, the reference position P3 to be detected may be limited by the component arrangement space in the device. Further, the reference position P3 may vary due to component tolerances and assembly accuracy during assembly and manufacturing. Therefore, the reference position P3 may not be near the start position of the main scanning position 400 but may overlap the position where the fixation lamp 109 should be lit based on the fixation lamp lighting pattern 450.

Therefore, when the lighting control of the fixation lamp 109 is performed using the detection signal of the reference position detected during the same main scan, the later the detection timing of the reference position P3, the later the time when the lighting of the fixation lamp 109 can be started. Become. Therefore, the range in which the fixation lamp 109 can be turned on in each main scanning line is narrowed.

On the other hand, in the fixation lamp control method according to the present embodiment, the detection signal 410 at the reference position detected during the previous main scan, more specifically, the previous main scan (n lines) is used as the reference. As a result, the fixation lamp 109 in the current main scan (n+1 line) is controlled. Therefore, the range in which the fixation lamp 109 can be turned on in the current main scanning can be widened without being limited to the reference position P3.

As described above, the SLO device 1 according to the present embodiment includes the fixation lamp 109, the polygon scanner 103 that performs main scanning of the light from the fixation lamp 109 on the fundus of the eye 140 to be inspected, and the main scanning by the polygon scanner 103. And a detection unit 150 that detects the reference position. The SLO device 1 also includes a fixation lamp control unit 305 that controls the fixation lamp 109 based on the detection timing of the reference position by the detection unit 150.

More specifically, the fixation light control unit 305 controls the fixation light 109 based on the detection timing in the previous main scanning. In particular, the fixation lamp control unit 305 controls the fixation lamp 109 in the current main scanning with reference to the detection timing in the immediately preceding main scanning.

With such a configuration, the SLO device 1 can widen the range in which the fixation lamp can be turned on in the current main scanning without being limited to the reference detection position where the reference position of the main scanning is detected. Further, by using the detection timing in the previous main scanning as a reference, it is possible to reduce the deviation between the timing of the actual main scanning operation and the timing of the fixation lamp control, and to perform the proper fixation lamp control.

In the present embodiment, the detection signal 410 for detecting the reference position during the previous main scanning is used for the fixation lamp control of the current main scanning. However, the detection signal currently used for the main scanning fixation lamp control is not limited to this.

The polygon scanner 103 is equipped with 14-sided mirrors, and there is a difference in mirror shape for each mirrored surface. Therefore, by using the detection signal during the previous main scanning using a mirror surface different from the mirror surface used in the main scanning for controlling the fixation lamp 109 for the fixation lamp control, fixation is performed for each main scanning line. There may be a deviation in the lighting timing of the lamp. In order to deal with this, a detection signal based on the same mirror surface as the fixation light control can be used for the fixation light control.

In the main scanning by the polygon scanner 103 to which 14 mirrors are attached, the same mirror surface is used in the 14th main scanning. Therefore, in this case, the detection signals in the main scanning 14 units before may be used for the fixation lamp control. By using the detection signal from the same mirror, it is possible to reduce the influence of the shape difference on each mirror surface in the fixation lamp control. The number of mirror surfaces of the polygon scanner 103 may be arbitrary. Therefore, the main scanning related to the detection signal used for the fixation light control is not limited to the 14th main scanning, and may be set according to the number of mirror surfaces of the polygon scanner 103.

Further, as a result of the assembly adjustment of the apparatus, the reference position P3 may be near the start position of the main scanning position 400, and the detection signal input timing may be in time by the start of the fixation lamp lighting timing of the same line. Therefore, even if the fixation light control unit 305 can switch between the fixation light control using the detection signal detected in the previous main scanning and the fixation light control using the detection signal detected during the same main scanning. Good.

In this case, the fixation lamp control unit 305 determines the detection timing in the previous main scanning or the control of the fixation lamp 109 as a reference for controlling the fixation lamp 109 according to the instruction of the operator. Select the detection timing in the main scan. Here, when the fixation lamp control using the detection timing (detection signal) in the main scanning when controlling the fixation lamp 109 is selected, the fixation lamp clock generation unit 302 inputs the synchronization signal 420, The fixation lamp clock 440 is output a predetermined number of times without waiting for the time td1. The fixation lamp control unit 305 controls the fixation lamp 109 according to the fixation lamp clock 440. Further, when the fixation lamp control using the detection timing (detection signal) in the previous main scanning is selected, the fixation lamp control unit 305 fixes the fixation based on the detection timing in the previous main scanning as described above. The lamp 109 is controlled.

Since the detection signal based on the same mirror surface can be used in the fixation lamp control for the detection signal detected during the same main scanning, the influence of the shape difference for each mirror surface in the fixation lamp control can be reduced as described above. can do. Therefore, by making these fixation lamp controls switchable, it is possible to reduce the influence of the shape difference for each mirror surface in the fixation lamp control according to the assembly adjustment of the device.

The detection signal does not have to be detected every main scanning. For example, if the detection signal is detected in a state where the rotation of the polygon scanner 103 for main scanning is stable, the subsequent fixation lamp control may be performed based on one detection signal. In this case, the detection unit 150 can output the detection signal 310 to the synchronization signal generation unit 301 after waiting for a predetermined time for the rotation of the polygon scanner 103 to stabilize. The synchronization signal generator 301 can generate the subsequent synchronization signal 320 based on the input detection signal 310. Further, the control unit 130 may ignore the detection signal 310 for a predetermined time for stabilizing the rotation of the polygon scanner 103.

Alternatively, the fixation lamp clock generation unit 302 may output the subsequent fixation lamp clock based on one synchronization signal 320 regarding one detection signal 310. In this case, the line number counter 304 can count up and output the line number at every predetermined time after one synchronization signal 320. Further, the detection signal 310 may be input to the fixation lamp clock generation unit 302 to generate the subsequent fixation lamp clock.

(Example 2)
In the SLO device 1 according to the first embodiment, the fixation lamp control is performed with reference to the detection timing of the reference position in the previous main scanning. In addition to this, in the SLO device according to the second embodiment, the SLO data is continuously captured, and the SLO data is continuously detected based on the detection timing of the reference position during the main scanning different from the main scanning regarding the detection timing used for lighting the fixation lamp. Data is extracted.

By using the SLO device according to the present embodiment, the range in which the fixation lamp can be turned on and the SLO photographing range can be widened without being limited to the reference position during main scanning, and in addition, SLO for each main scanning line can be used. It is possible to reduce the deviation of the shooting position.

Since the optical system of the SLO device according to the present embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the SLO device according to the present embodiment will be described, focusing on the difference from the first embodiment.

<Configuration of control unit>
First, the control unit according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows a schematic configuration example of the control unit according to the present embodiment. The control unit 500 includes a synchronization signal generation unit 501, a fixation lamp clock generation unit 502, a line number counter 504, a fixation lamp control unit 505, and a memory unit 507. Further, the control unit 500 is provided with an SLO clock generation unit 503, an SLO data extraction unit 509, a buffer memory unit 508, and an SLO data acquisition unit 506.

Regarding the synchronization signal generation unit 501, the fixation light clock generation unit 502, the line number counter 504, and the fixation light control unit 505, the synchronization signal generation unit 301, the fixation light clock generation unit 302, and the line according to the first embodiment. It is similar to the number counter 304 and the fixation lamp control unit 305. Therefore, description of these is omitted. The detection signal 510, the synchronization signal 520, the line number 530, the fixation lamp clock 540, and the fixation lamp lighting pattern 550 are also the detection signal 310, the synchronization signal 320, the line number 330, and the fixation lamp clock 340 according to the first embodiment. And the fixation lamp lighting pattern 350. Therefore, description of these is also omitted.

The synchronization signal generation unit 501 is also connected to the SLO clock generation unit 503 and outputs the synchronization signal 520 to the SLO clock generation unit 503. The line number counter 504 is also connected to the SLO data extraction unit 509 and outputs the counted line number 530 to the SLO data extraction unit 509.

The SLO clock generation unit 503 is connected to the synchronization signal generation unit 501 and the SLO data extraction unit 509, generates the SLO clock 570 based on the synchronization signal 520 from the synchronization signal generation unit 501, and outputs the SLO data extraction unit 509. Output to. The SLO clock generation unit 503 can be configured using any clock oscillator or circuit.

The SLO data capturing unit 506 (data capturing unit) is connected to the APD 112 and the buffer memory unit 508, continuously captures the SLO data 560 from the APD 112 in synchronization with a predetermined clock, and stores it in the buffer memory unit 508. Write. The SLO data capturing unit 506 can be configured by a module executed by the CPU or MPU of the control unit 500. Further, the SLO data acquisition unit 506 may be configured by a circuit or the like that realizes a specific function such as an ASIC.

The buffer memory unit 508 (storage unit) is a memory that temporarily stores the input data, and may be configured using, for example, a FIFO (First In First Out) memory or a RAM (Random Access Memory). it can. The buffer memory unit 508 can be configured by any other storage medium or storage device according to a desired configuration.

The SLO data extraction unit 509 (data extraction unit) is connected to the SLO clock generation unit 503, the line number counter 504, the buffer memory unit 508, and the memory unit 507. The SLO data extraction unit 509 extracts the SLO data 580 from the SLO data 560 stored in the buffer memory unit 508 based on the SLO clock 570 and the line number 530. The SLO data extraction unit 509 writes the extracted SLO data 580 in the memory unit 507. The SLO data extraction unit 509 can be configured by a module executed by the CPU or MPU of the control unit 500. Further, the SLO data extraction unit 509 may be configured by a circuit or the like that realizes a specific function such as an ASIC.

<Lighting control method for fixation lights>
Next, a fixation lamp control method will be described with reference to FIG. Since the fixation lamp control method according to the present embodiment is the same as the fixation lamp control method according to Embodiment 1, the description will be simplified as appropriate. FIG. 6 shows an example of a timing chart for fixation lamp control and SLO data sampling according to this embodiment. In each graph of FIG. 6, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents position, signal strength, or data or the presence or absence of processing.

The detection unit 150 outputs the detection signal 610 to the synchronization signal generation unit 501 when the main scanning position 600 of the nth line by the polygon scanner 103 reaches the reference position P4.

When the detection signal 610 of the nth line is input, the synchronization signal generation unit 501 generates the synchronization signal 620 of the nth line, and the line number counter 504, the fixation lamp clock generation unit 502, and the SLO clock generation unit 503. The sync signal 620 is output.

When the synchronizing signal 620 is input, the line number counter 504 counts up the main scanning line number 630 from n−1, sets the line number 630 to n, and sets the line number 630 to the fixation lamp control unit 505 and the SLO data. It is output to the extraction unit 509.

When the synchronization signal 620 of the nth line is input, the fixation light clock generation unit 502 waits for the time td3 and then outputs the fixation light clock 640 to the fixation light control unit 505 a predetermined number of times. The fixation lamp control unit 505 controls lighting and extinction of the fixation lamp 109 at the timing of the fixation lamp clock 640 according to the fixation light lighting pattern 650 of the (n+1)th line read from the memory unit 507. Here, since the time td3 is the same as the time td1 according to the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

For the fixation lamp control according to the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the detection signal 610 detected during the previous main scanning is used to set the range in which the fixation lamp 109 can be turned on in the current main scanning as a reference. It can be widened without being limited to the position P4.

<SLO shooting control method>
Next, the SLO imaging control method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The SLO data fetching unit 506 continuously fetches the SLO data 660 from the APD 112 at a predetermined clock and writes it in the buffer memory unit 508. Note that, in FIG. 6, line numbers are described with respect to the SLO data fetching timing in order to help understanding, but the SLO data fetching unit 506 does not need to know the main scanning line numbers with respect to the fetched data.

When the synchronization signal 620 of the nth line generated by the synchronization signal generation unit 501 as described above is input, the SLO clock generation unit 503 outputs the SLO clock 670 to the SLO data extraction unit 509 a predetermined number of times.

The SLO data extraction unit 509 extracts the SLO data 680 from the buffer memory unit 508 at the timing of the input SLO clock 670 and writes it into the memory unit 507 as the nth line data. Here, the SLO data extraction unit 509 extracts SLO data from the captured data before the detection signal is input (pre-trigger process) and SLO data from the captured data after the detection signal is input (post-trigger process). be able to. In the present embodiment, regarding the pre-trigger processing, SLO data is extracted from the captured data before the detection signal input by time td4 to the detection signal input.

Here, the time td4 is a retroactive time from the input timing of the synchronization signal 620 based on the detection signal 610 to the timing at which the SLO data 660 to be extracted is fetched. When the time td4 is changed, the range (number) of the SLO data 680 extracted from the loaded SLO data 660 changes, so that the SLO imaging position of the eye 140 to be examined on the fundus changes. Therefore, this time td4 can be an adjustment value determined by the SLO imaging position adjustment during assembly and manufacturing.

In the present embodiment, based on the assumed device design, as shown in FIG. 4, the SLO imaging range (imaging position) determined by the time td4 does not start from the start position of the main scanning on the n-th line, and may slightly change. It starts from the position where the scan has advanced. However, the SLO imaging range determined by the time td4 is not limited to this. The SLO imaging range determined by the time td4 may be adjusted between the start position and the end position of each main scanning line according to the desired device design.

As described above, in the SLO imaging control according to the present embodiment, the reference position detection timing during the main scanning different from the main scanning (previous main scanning) regarding the reference position detection timing used in the control method of the fixation lamp 109. The SLO data extraction is controlled based on the above.

Since the lighting of the fixation lamp 109 is performed to guide the fixation of the eye 140 to be inspected, it is necessary to widen the lighting range of the fixation lamp 109 as much as possible. On the other hand, since SLO imaging is performed for imaging control such as autofocus and fundus tracking and image diagnosis, it is required to increase the accuracy of the imaging position in addition to widening the imaging range. On the other hand, when the detection signal during the previous main scanning is used, there is a possibility that the SLO imaging position shifts for each main scanning line due to the difference in shape between the mirror surfaces.

Therefore, in the SLO imaging control according to the present embodiment, the SLO data 660 is continuously captured, and the SLO data is extracted with reference to the detection timing of the reference position in the same main scan as the main scan in which the SLO data 680 should be extracted. .. This makes it possible to reduce the deviation of the SLO imaging position for each main scanning line.

Further, in the SLO imaging control according to the present embodiment, since the SLO data 660 is continuously captured and the extracted SLO data 660 is extracted, pre-trigger processing can be performed on the detection signal 610. Therefore, even if SLO data extraction is performed with reference to the detection timing of the reference position in the same main scan as the main scan from which the SLO data 680 should be extracted, the SLO imaging range can be widened without being limited to the reference position.

As described above, the SLO device according to the present embodiment includes the SLO light source 110 and the APD 112 that receives the light from the SLO light source 110 reflected from the subject's eye 140. The SLO device according to the present embodiment further includes an SLO data capturing unit 506 that captures the data output from the APD 112, and an SLO data extracting unit 509 that extracts at least a part of the data from the captured data. In this case, the polygon scanner 103 mainly scans the light from the SLO light source 110 along with the light from the fixation lamp 109 on the fundus of the eye 140 to be inspected.

More specifically, the SLO data extraction unit 509 extracts at least a part of the data with reference to the detection timing in the main scanning different from the previous main scanning regarding the detection timing used for the fixation light control. In particular, the SLO data extraction unit 509 according to the present embodiment extracts at least a part of the data with reference to the detection timing in the main scanning when extracting the at least a part of the data.

With such a configuration, in the SLO apparatus according to the present embodiment, the SLO imaging range can be widened without being limited to the reference position, and the deviation of the SLO imaging position for each main scanning line can be reduced.

Further, the SLO device according to the present embodiment further includes a buffer memory unit 508 that stores the fetched data, and the SLO data extraction unit 509 extracts at least a part of the data from the data stored in the buffer memory unit 508. .. As a result, the SLO data extraction unit 509 can perform the SLO data extraction process before the detection signal by the pre-trigger process for the detection signal, and can widen the SLO imaging range without being limited to the reference position. ..

In this embodiment, the SLO data 660 is continuously fetched and the SLO data 680 is extracted with reference to the detection timing of the reference position during the same main scanning. Not limited to. For example, as in the first embodiment, the reference position detection timing in the immediately preceding main scanning may be used as the reference, or the reference position detection timing in the previous main scanning using the same mirror surface may be used as the reference.

In this regard, similarly to the first embodiment, regarding the SLO shooting control according to the present embodiment, the SLO shooting control using the detection signal detected in the previous main scanning and the detection signal detected during the same main scanning are performed. The SLO control using may be switchable.

Further, in the present embodiment, the lighting control of the fixation lamp 109 and the SLO imaging control are performed based on the detection signals from the same detection unit 150. On the other hand, the lighting control of the fixation lamp 109 and the SLO imaging control can be performed based on the detection signals from different detection units.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the exemplary embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above exemplary embodiments. Inventions modified within a range not departing from the spirit of the present invention and inventions equivalent to the present invention are also included in the present invention. Further, the above-described respective embodiments and modified examples can be appropriately combined without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1: SLO device (ophthalmic device), 109: fixation light, 103: polygon scanner (scanning unit), 150: detection unit, 305: fixation light control unit (control unit)

Claims (10)

A fixation light,
A scanning unit for main scanning light from the fixation lamp on the fundus of the eye to be inspected,
A detection unit for detecting a reference position for main scanning by the scanning unit,
A control unit for controlling the fixation lamp with reference to the detection timing of the reference position by the detection unit;
Equipped with
The ophthalmologic apparatus, wherein the control unit controls the fixation lamp with reference to the detection timing in the previous main scanning. The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the fixation lamp with the detection timing in the immediately preceding main scanning as the reference. The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the fixation lamp with the detection timing in the previous main scanning using the same mirror surface of the scanning unit as the reference. The control unit is
As the reference when controlling the fixation lamp, select the detection timing in the previous main scanning or the detection timing in the main scanning when controlling the fixation lamp,
The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the detection timing in the previous main scanning is selected, the fixation lamp is controlled with the detection timing in the previous main scanning as the reference. .. Observation light source,
A light receiving unit that receives light from the observation light source reflected from the eye to be inspected,
A data capturing unit for capturing the data output from the light receiving unit,
A data extraction unit that extracts at least a part of the data from the captured data,
Further equipped with,
The scanning unit performs main scanning of the light from the observation light source together with the light from the fixation lamp on the fundus of the eye to be inspected,
The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data extraction unit extracts the at least a part of the data based on a detection timing in a main scan different from the previous main scan. The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the data extraction unit extracts the at least part of the data with reference to a detection timing in main scanning when the at least part of the data is extracted. The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the data extraction unit extracts the at least a part of the data with the detection timing in the previous main scanning using the same mirror surface of the scanning unit as the reference. Further comprising a storage unit for storing the captured data,
The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the data extraction unit extracts the at least a part of the data from the data stored in the storage unit. A method of controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus including a fixation lamp, comprising:
Main scanning light from the fixation lamp on the fundus of the eye to be examined,
Detecting the main scanning reference position,
Controlling the fixation lamp with reference to the detection timing of the reference position,
Including
The control method includes controlling the fixation lamp with reference to the detection timing in the previous main scanning as a reference. Receiving light from the observation light source reflected from the eye to be examined,
Capturing data based on the received light from the observation light source;
Extracting at least some data from the captured data;
Further including,
The main scanning includes main scanning light from the observation light source together with light from the fixation lamp on the fundus of the eye to be inspected,
The control method according to claim 9, wherein the extracting includes extracting the at least a part of the data with reference to a detection timing in a main scanning different from the previous main scanning.

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