JP4939236B2 - SUBJECT INFORMATION ANALYSIS DEVICE, ENDOSCOPE DEVICE, AND SUBJECT INFORMATION ANALYSIS METHOD - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an object information analysis apparatus, an endoscope apparatus, and an object information analysis method for optically analyzing an object using ultrasonic waves.

In recent years, various techniques such as optical CT, optical coherence tomography (hereinafter referred to as OCT), and photoacoustic tomography have been proposed as means for realizing optical tomographic imaging of living bodies.
Since the optical CT uses near-infrared light in a wavelength range of 700 nm to 1200 nm that is relatively weakly affected by light scattering inside the living body, it is possible to obtain a tomographic image of the deep part of the living body up to several centimeters below the mucosa.
In addition, OCT using interference can acquire a biological tomographic image up to a depth of about 2 mm in a short time with high resolution (μm to tens of μm). OCT is a technology that has already been put to practical use in the diagnosis of retinal diseases in the ophthalmic field, and its medical interest is very high.

The optical CT can obtain deep information, but its spatial resolution is as low as several millimeters. On the other hand, it is difficult for OCT to observe a depth of about 2 mm or less under the living mucosa and to obtain a good image quality for tumor tissues such as cancer.
This is because the coherence of light is significantly disturbed by the influence of blood absorption and strong scattering in the deep part of the living body and tumor tissue.
On the other hand, in Non-Patent Document 1 by Hisaka et al., The light that is absorbed by the living body is irradiated with ultrasonic waves and light, and the irradiation light modulated by pulsed ultrasonic waves in the living body is absorbed by about 1 cm below the mucosal surface layer. Examples of attempted imaging have been reported.
Also in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-224399 of Patent Document 1, by irradiating a living body with ultrasonic pulses and light and detecting irradiation light modulated by pulsed ultrasonic waves in the living body, An apparatus for obtaining absorbed light imaging is disclosed.
JP 2005-224399 A JP 2000-197635 A JP 2000-88743 A Masaki Hisaka, Tadao Sugiura, Atsushi Kawada, “Optical Tomographic Observation of Deep Scatterer Using Interaction between Pulsed Ultrasound and Light”, Optics 29, pp 631-634, 2000

However, the prior examples of Patent Document 1, Patent Document 3, and Non-Patent Document 1 are only specialized for optical imaging of absorption, and let us obtain scattering information caused by changes in tissue configuration and structure. It is not a technology.
On the other hand, structural changes in tissues such as the concentration of intranuclear chromatin and changes in the spatial distribution of nuclei accompanying the canceration of tumors in living tissues, in particular, cause changes in light scattering characteristics. For this reason, it is desirable to obtain scattering information having a high correlation with a structural change of a tissue related to a cancer tissue or the like.
Note that the light scattering information highly correlated with the structural change of the tissue is derived from the real part of the complex refractive index at the tissue site, while the imaginary part of the complex refractive index is related to absorption, so the real part of the complex refractive index. By capturing the change in the imaginary part, two-dimensional or three-dimensional information on the scattering characteristics and the absorption characteristics can be obtained.

On the other hand, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-197635 of Patent Document 2, ultrasonic waves are focused by irradiating a living body so as to focus ultrasonic waves and irradiating light from a plurality of light sources such as lasers from various directions. A method of recording the scattering coefficient and the absorption coefficient by detecting the light scattered in the region with a plurality of detectors arranged around the living body is disclosed based on the diffusion wave equation.
In the conventional example of Patent Document 2, since a plurality of light sources and detectors are used, it takes time to install them in a state where they can be measured, and detection is performed in a signal processing system after the detectors. There is a drawback that places a burden on the user, for example, it is expected that adjustment corresponding to the arrangement of the vessel is required.

In addition, since this conventional example does not have a control means for controlling the light source or the inspection target part to appropriately receive light by the detector when the position is changed, imaged information or the like is acquired. There is a drawback that cannot be easily done.
For this reason, an apparatus capable of generating characteristic information of a subject including information on the real part of the complex refractive index while ensuring high spatial resolution even in the case of an examination target site on the deep side in the living body as the subject. And a method is desired.

(Object of invention)
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described points. An object information analysis apparatus, an endoscope apparatus, and the like for easily acquiring characteristic information of an object including light scattering information of a region to be examined in the object, and An object of the present invention is to provide a specimen information analysis method.

An object information analysis apparatus according to the present invention includes an ultrasonic wave generation unit capable of generating an ultrasonic wave with respect to the object along a predetermined ultrasonic wave transmission axis,
Illuminating light generating means capable of generating illuminating light that reaches an examination site in the subject to which the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic generating means are transmitted;
A light receiving means for receiving the frequency-modulated light from the examination target site that the illumination light has reached;
Frequency information extraction means for optically or electrically extracting frequency information of the frequency-modulated light;
Based on the frequency information extracted by the frequency information extracting means, the scattering information extracting means for extracting light scattering information in the examination target part reached by the illumination light,
Subject information generating means for generating characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target part to which the illumination light has arrived, based on light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extracting means;
It is characterized by comprising.

According to a first endoscope apparatus of the present invention, an ultrasonic wave generation unit capable of generating an ultrasonic wave with respect to a subject along a predetermined ultrasonic wave transmission axis, and the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic wave generation unit An illumination light generator that can generate illumination light that reaches the examination target site in the subject to be transmitted, and is provided so as to be capable of receiving frequency-modulated light reflected from the examination target site to which the illumination light has reached. Based on a reflected light receiving unit, a scattering information extracting unit that extracts light scattering information at the inspection target site reached by the illumination light, based on a received light signal received by the reflected light receiving unit, and the scattered information extracting unit based on the scattering information of the extracted light, the corresponding to the inspected portion of the illumination light reaches possess the object information generating unit which generates characteristic information of the object, wherein the illumination light generation portion, Around the ultrasonic generator The information extraction unit is disposed based on the frequency information extraction unit that extracts frequency information obtained from the received light signal received by the reflected light receiving unit, and the frequency information extracted by the frequency information extraction unit, A scattering information extraction unit that extracts light scattering information in the examination target site where light has reached, and the subject information generation unit is based on the light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extraction unit, Characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target region where the illumination light has arrived is generated.
According to a second endoscope apparatus of the present invention, an ultrasonic wave generation unit capable of generating an ultrasonic wave with respect to a subject along a predetermined ultrasonic wave transmission axis, and the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic wave generation unit An illumination light generator that can generate illumination light that reaches the examination target site in the subject to be transmitted, and is provided so as to be capable of receiving frequency-modulated light reflected from the examination target site to which the illumination light has reached. Based on a reflected light receiving unit, a scattering information extracting unit that extracts light scattering information at the inspection target site reached by the illumination light, based on a received light signal received by the reflected light receiving unit, and the scattered information extracting unit A subject information generation unit that generates characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target site that the illumination light has reached based on the extracted light scattering information, and the illumination light generation unit includes: Around the ultrasonic generator And the information extraction unit extracts frequency information by causing interference between illumination light generated by the illumination light generation unit and reflected light received by the reflected light receiving unit, and the frequency Based on the frequency information extracted by the information extraction unit, a scattering information extraction unit that extracts light scattering information at the examination target site where the illumination light has arrived, and the subject information generation unit are provided by the scattering information extraction unit. Based on the extracted light scattering information, characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target part where the illumination light arrives is generated.
According to a third endoscope apparatus of the present invention, an ultrasonic generator capable of generating an ultrasonic wave with respect to a subject along a predetermined ultrasonic transmission axis, and the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic generator An illumination light generator that can generate illumination light that reaches the examination target site in the subject to be transmitted, and is provided so as to be capable of receiving frequency-modulated light reflected from the examination target site to which the illumination light has reached. Based on a reflected light receiving unit, a scattering information extracting unit that extracts light scattering information at the inspection target site reached by the illumination light, based on a received light signal received by the reflected light receiving unit, and the scattered information extracting unit A subject information generation unit that generates characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target site that the illumination light has reached based on the extracted light scattering information, and the illumination light generation unit includes: Around the ultrasonic generator The information extraction unit is arranged to perform frequency conversion of a light reception signal received by the reflected light receiving unit to extract a frequency component, and the illumination based on the frequency component extracted by the frequency component extraction unit A scattering information extraction unit that extracts light scattering information in the examination target site where light has reached, and the subject information generation unit is based on the light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extraction unit, Characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target region where the illumination light has arrived is generated.

An object information analysis method according to the present invention includes an ultrasonic wave generation step for generating an ultrasonic wave on a subject along a predetermined ultrasonic transmission axis;
An illumination light generation step for generating illumination light that reaches a region to be examined in the subject to which the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic generation step is transmitted;
A light receiving step for receiving frequency-modulated light from the examination target site reached by the illumination light;
A frequency information extraction step for optically or electrically extracting frequency information of the frequency-modulated light;
Based on the frequency information extracted in the frequency information extraction step, a scattering information extraction step of extracting light scattering information in the examination target site reached by the illumination light,
A subject information generating step for generating characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target portion reached by the illumination light, based on light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extracting step;
It is characterized by comprising.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily acquire characteristic information of a subject including light scattering information of a region to be examined in the subject.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration example of the subject information analysis apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the optical imaging apparatus of Example 1 of the sample information analysis apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the operation contents of the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the sample information analyzing apparatus according to the present invention is an ultrasonic generator 2 capable of generating ultrasonic waves so as to transmit ultrasonic waves to the inside of the subject along a predetermined ultrasonic transmission axis. And an illumination light generation unit 3 that can generate illumination light that reaches the site to be examined in the subject to which the ultrasonic waves generated from the ultrasound generation unit 2 are transmitted.

In addition, this specimen information analyzer is configured so that the illumination light generated by the illumination light generator 3 can receive, for example, the Doppler-shifted frequency-modulated light reflected by the examination site, for example, the illumination light generator 3 ( Or it has the reflected light light-receiving part 4 arrange | positioned at the ultrasonic wave generation part 2) side, and the frequency information extraction part 5 which extracts a Doppler shift amount from the received light signal received by this reflected light light-receiving part 4.
1 shows the configuration of the reflected light receiving unit 4 that receives the Doppler-shifted reflected light. However, as shown in a second modified example (see FIG. 14) of Example 3 to be described later. It may be configured to receive light transmitted through the specimen. In this case, the reflected light receiving unit 4 in FIG. 1 functions as a simple light receiving unit.

Further, in the case of FIG. 1, the frequency information is electrically extracted from the light reception signal. However, as in Example 3 described later, the Doppler shifted light becomes an optical frequency information extraction unit. You may extract by spectroscopic apparatuses, such as a liquid crystal tunable filter.
In this case, the optical frequency information extraction unit extracts the frequency information (the Doppler shifted frequency component) from the Doppler shifted light before being received by the reflected light receiving unit 4.
FIG. 1 shows an example in which the frequency information extraction unit 5 extracts frequency information from the light reception signal received by the reflected light receiving unit 4, but the light received by the reflected light receiving unit 4 is transmitted to the spectroscopic unit. (See, for example, Example 3 to be described later). In this case, the received light signal received by the reflected light receiving unit 4 is already a signal including frequency information and is input to the scattered information extracting unit 6.

Further, the specimen information analyzing apparatus includes a scattering information extraction unit 6 that extracts light scattering information corresponding to at least a real part in the complex refractive index of the examination target region from the extracted frequency information, and the examination from the scattering information. A subject information generation unit 6 ′ that generates characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the target region. In the case of FIG. 1, the reflected light receiving unit 4 is configured to receive the reflected light via the light separating unit 13.
The subject information generation unit 6 ′ has an image forming unit for imaging and displaying scattering information and the like at each position obtained by scanning the examination target region of the subject in two dimensions or three dimensions, for example.
The subject information analysis apparatus extracts subject information including information on the real part of the complex refractive index for the region to be examined by extracting Doppler-shifted frequency information relatively easily.

An optical imaging apparatus 1E shown in FIG. 2 includes a light source device 3b as an illumination light generation unit 3 in a unit 11 serving as a storage container. The light generated by the light source device 3b is incident on the half mirror 13a as the light separation unit 13, and is divided into light that is transmitted and light that is reflected.
The light transmitted through the half mirror 13a is converged through a collimating lens (or a condensing lens) 38 attached to the lens frame 37, and is irradiated onto the living tissue 7 as a subject.
In addition, an ultrasonic transducer 2a serving as the ultrasonic generator 2 is attached to the end surface of the unit 11 or the like so that the direction formed by the optical axis O of the collimating lens 38, for example, the angle θ (> 0) is the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou. It has been.
The ultrasonic transducer 2a is provided with an acoustic lens 16 as ultrasonic focusing means.

As shown in FIG. 2, the light is scattered in the direction of the optical axis O in the vicinity of the region R1 near the convergence point F and becomes Doppler-shifted light (frequency-modulated light). It returns to the collimating lens 38 side with almost no influence of the sound wave.
A part of the light returning to the collimator lens 38 is reflected by the half mirror 13 a and received by the photodetector 4 a serving as the reflected light receiving unit 4.
The light reflected by the half mirror 13a becomes reference light, is reflected by the reference mirror 14 disposed so as to face the reference optical path, and is incident on the half mirror 13a again. A part of the incident light passes through the half mirror 13a.
At this time, the light is received by the photodetector 4a while being mixed (interfered) with the Doppler-shifted return light.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the scattered light scattered in the vicinity region R1 of the convergence point F is superposed by setting the optical axis O and the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou to be in different directions. Detection is possible with almost no influence other than the vicinity region R1 due to the sound wave.
For this reason, in this embodiment, for example, a signal generator 39 that generates a continuous wave ultrasonic drive signal is employed.
The ultrasonic drive signal generated by the signal generator 39 is amplified by the power amplifier 22 and then applied to the ultrasonic transducer 2a.
The lens frame 37 to which the collimating lens 38 is attached is fitted with a cylinder (not shown) provided on the unit 11 side, and moves in the direction of the optical axis O, so that the convergence point by the acoustic lens 16 that converges ultrasonic waves. Adjustment can be made so that the light is focused on the position F. That is, the collimating lens 38 and the lens frame 37 form an irradiation position adjusting unit that is irradiated with illumination light.

Further, the ultrasonic transducer 2a is attached to the movable frame 40, and the movable frame 40 is moved in the direction of the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou so that the position of the ultrasonic convergence point F can be adjusted. A sonic focus adjusting unit is formed.
Then, the focus adjustment of the ultrasonic wave can be performed so that the ultrasonic wave is focused at the position where the light is focused by the collimating lens 38.
Further, the unit 11 is provided with a scanning unit 12 as a scanning unit for two-dimensionally scanning (scanning) the unit 11, and the scanning unit 12 is a scanning signal from the scanning signal generation circuit 24. Operate.
The scanning signal generation circuit 24 is controlled by a PC 6a described later.

In this embodiment, the output signal of the photodetector 4a is input to a signal processing circuit 5c such as a spectrum analyzer as the frequency information extracting unit 5 that extracts a Doppler shift component.
The frequency information extracted by the signal processing circuit 5c is input to a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as PC) 6a having functions as the scattering information extraction unit 6 and the subject information generation unit 6 ′. By this PC 6a, information corresponding to the real part in the complex refractive index in the region R1 in the vicinity of the convergence point F of the living tissue 7 is extracted as the scattering information from the frequency information.
The signal from the signal generator 39 is input to the signal processing circuit 5c, and in synchronization with this signal, the signal processing circuit 5c outputs the extracted frequency information to the PC 6a.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which light is Doppler shifted by ultrasonic waves in the convergence point vicinity region R1.

As described above, the optical axis O and the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou have, for example, no angle θ, the frequency of light is f _s , the wavelength of the sound wave is λ, the transmission speed of ultrasonic waves inside the living tissue 7 is V, and the living tissue A refractive index n _{1 of} 7 and a change in refractive index in the vicinity region R1 due to ultrasonic waves are denoted by Δn.
More strictly speaking, the biological tissue 7 has a complex refractive index m (= m _r + im _i, where m _{r is} a real part of the complex refractive index and m _i is an imaginary part of the complex refractive index). The real part and imaginary part change by irradiation, but when the primary change (for the Doppler shift frequency) is detected with respect to the light frequency as in this embodiment, the change in the real part is detected. Will do. That is, the refractive index change Δn corresponds to variation Delta] m _r of the real part m _r when expressed using the complex index of refraction.

For this reason, in this embodiment related to the Doppler shift, a notation using a symbol n, which is more widely used as a refractive index, is adopted.
The frequency of light scattered in the vicinity region R1 and returning to the incident side is f _s −Δf = f _s −2V cos θ (n ₁ + Δn) / λ (1) as shown in FIG.
It becomes. Then, the Doppler shift amount Δf in the second term of the equation (1) is detected.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, signal detection by the photodetector 4a will be described. The ultrasonic wave emitted from the ultrasonic transducer 2a propagates inside the living tissue 7 as a dense wave that periodically vibrates. As shown in FIG. 3, in the ultrasonic convergence region where the sound pressure becomes high, a refractive index change Δn is caused in a portion where the sound pressure is dense due to a spatial density change of the biological constituents (scatterers, absorbers) due to the sound pressure. It is thought that it is greatly induced. On the contrary, in the rough part, the density change of the substance is small.
On the other hand, when light is applied to a portion where the sound pressure is dense, strong Fresnel reflection occurs in the refractive index changing portion. In other words, the dense sound pressure part functions as a mirror. In this case, since the refractive index changing portion moves in the ultrasonic wave propagation direction with time, the frequency of the reflected light is Doppler shifted by Δf.

In the case of the optical imaging apparatus 1E in which a Michelson interferometer is formed as shown in FIG. 2, the electric field E _r (t) on the reference mirror 14 side and the electric field E _o on the observation light side incident on the photodetector 4a. (T) is represented by equations (2) and (3), respectively.
_{E r (t) = E r} expi {2πf s tk o (D 1 + 2L 1 + D 2)} (2)
_{E o (t) = E o} expi {2π (f s -Δf) tk o (D 1 + 2L 2 + 2n 0 L 4 + 2n 1 z + D 2)} (3)
Here, the distance between _{D 1} is a light source device 3b and the half mirror 13a as shown in FIG. 2, _{D 2} is the distance between the half mirror 13a and the light detector 4a, _{L 1} is between the reference half mirror 13a mirror 14 The distance, L ₂ + L _4, represents the distance between the surfaces of the biological tissue 7 on which the half mirror 13a light is incident, and L ₄ represents the distance between the collimating lens 38 and the surface of the biological tissue 7. N ₀ represents the refractive index of the water 36.

In this case, the Doppler shift amount Δf is expressed by Equation (1). According to the equation (1), it can be seen that the refractive index change Δn induced by the ultrasonic waves is included in the Doppler shift amount Δf.
That is, since the refractive index is a main parameter of the light scattering phenomenon (for example, Mie theory), there is a possibility that local scattering characteristics can be acquired by measuring the Doppler shift frequency of the detection light.
The light intensity I (t) detected by the photodetector 4a is expressed by the following equation (4).

I (t) = <| _Er + _Eo | ² >
^{_{= <| E r | 2 +}} | E o | 2> +2 <| E r || E o |> cos {2π (2Vcosθ (n 1 + Δn 1) / λ) t + 2n 1 k o z} (4)
Here, it was assumed that (L ₂ + n ₀ L ₄ ) ≈L ₁ .
By detecting the frequency component of the AC component of the third term in the equation (4) with a spectrum analyzer or the like, it becomes possible to acquire the Doppler shift frequency, that is, to perform the scattering measurement in the local region.

Next, the operation of the optical imaging apparatus 1E of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In the first step S41, the light source device 3b generates light. Further, as shown in step S42, the ultrasonic transducer 2a also generates ultrasonic waves. As shown in step S43, the light from the light source device 3b causes a Doppler frequency shift due to the ultrasonic wave in the region R1 near the convergence point F of the living tissue 7. That is, the light with the Doppler shift amount Δf as in the above-described equation (1) interferes with the reference light in the half mirror 13a to become interference light, and is detected by the photodetector 4a as shown in step S44. Is done.

As shown in step S45, the interference signal has a Doppler shift amount Δf detected by a signal processing circuit 5c such as a spectrum analyzer.
As shown in step S46, the output signal of the signal processing circuit 5c is input to the PC 6a, converted into a digital signal, and Δf or V (n ₁ + Δn) or the like is stored as light scattering information in the memory or the like in the PC 6a. Stocked in association with information. The ultrasonic transmission speed V, wavelength λ, angle θ, and the like are known.
Then, in the next step S47, the PC 6a determines whether the scanning is the end, and if not, the scanning is performed so as to move the ultrasonic convergence point F as shown in step S48, and the steps S42 or S43 are performed. Return to.

In this way, scanning is performed two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally, and when scanning ends, the process proceeds from step S47 to step S49, and image generation is completed. Then, image display is performed.
As shown in step S50, the surgeon can observe the displayed image and effectively use it for screening of a lesion such as cancer.
In the above description, the detection of the Doppler shift amount Δf in step S45 has been described using a spectrum analyzer. In addition, the Doppler shift amount Δf can be detected by Fourier transform. Hereinafter, a case where Fourier transform is used will be described.

As described above, the photodetector 4a detects the light intensity I (t) in the equation (4). This equation (4) can be expressed as the following equation (5) using I _dc for the first and second terms and amplitudes I _ac and φ for the third term.
I (t) = I _dc + I _ac cos (2πΔft + φ)
= I _dc + I _ac cos (Δωt + φ) (5)
Here, φ = 2n ₁ k ₀ z.

  Expression (5) is Fourier-transformed in the signal processing circuit 5c and becomes Expression (6).

F (ω) = ∫ {I _dc + I _ac cos (Δωt + φ)} e ^−jωt dt
= ∫ {I _dc + I _ac cos (Δωt + φ)} e ^−jωt dt (−T ≦ t ≦ T)
= 2I _dc sin ωT / ω + I _ac {e ^jφ sin (Δω−ω) T / (Δω−ω) + e ^−jφ sin (Δω + ω) T / (Δω + ω)
_{= 2I dc sinωT / ω + I} ac cosφ {sin (Δω-ω) T / (Δω-ω) + sin (Δω + ω) T / (Δω + ω)} + jI ac sinφ {sin (Δω-ω) T / (Δω-ω) + sin (Δω + ω) T / (Δω + ω)} (6)
Here, the integration range of the upper right side of the equation (6) is from −∞ to + ∞, and the integration range of the second right side is from finite time −T to + T as described on the right side thereof. Can be approximated.

The real number component of the Fourier-transformed signal shown in equation (6) is as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the Doppler shift angular frequency Δω having a large peak is detected.
According to the present embodiment, by extracting the Doppler shift amount Δf, an analyzer capable of observing scattered information of the living tissue 7, that is, morphological information of cells and cell components of the living tissue 7 is realized. it can. In this case, by extracting the Doppler shift amount Δf, information on the real part of the complex refractive index can be easily extracted as compared with the conventional example. Therefore, the morphological characteristic information of the subject can be easily obtained.
Instead of extracting (calculating) frequency components using Fourier transform as described above, frequency components may be extracted using wavelet transform.

FIG. 6 shows a lens holding part 26 as an illumination optical axis holding part and a transducer holding part 27 peripheral part as an ultrasonic transmission axis holding part in the optical imaging apparatus of the first modification.
The lens holding portion 26 is fitted with a movable holding body 26a that is slidably held by a through hole into which a lens frame 37 to which a collimating lens 38 is attached is fitted, and one end side of the movable holding body 26a. And a fixed-side holding body 26b that is rotatably slidably held.
Further, a rack portion 26c is provided on the other end side of the movable holding body 26a, and this rack portion 26c meshes with a gear 26d provided at an end portion of the knob 26e. And the user can move the movable holding body 26a as shown by the code | symbol C in FIG. 6 by performing operation which rotates this knob 26e. Then, the optical axis O of the collimating lens 38 can be moved to adjust the optical axis O.

Similarly, the transducer holding portion 27 includes a movable holding body 27a that is slidably held by a through hole into which the movable frame body 40 to which the ultrasonic transducer 2a is attached is fitted, and one end of the movable holding body 27a. It consists of a fixed side holding body 27b that fits the part side and holds it so as to be capable of rotational sliding movement.
Further, a rack portion 27c is provided on the other end side of the movable holding body 27a, and this rack portion 27c meshes with a gear 27d provided at an end portion of the knob 27e.
Then, the user can move the movable holding body 27a as indicated by a symbol D in FIG. 6 by performing an operation of rotating the knob 27e. Then, the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou of the ultrasonic transducer 2a can be moved to adjust the direction of the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou.

In FIG. 6, the focal position Fo of light can be adjusted by adjusting the lens frame 37 in the direction of the optical axis O. Similarly, by adjusting the movable frame 40, the convergence point F of the ultrasonic wave can be adjusted.
And the illumination light adjustment part which can be adjusted, for example so that the focus position Fo may correspond to the convergence point F is provided. In addition, an ultrasonic focus adjustment unit that can be adjusted so that the convergence point F coincides with the focal position Fo is also provided.
In this modification, the movable holding body 26a and the movable holding body 27a can be rotated in a common plane (including the optical axis O and the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou) by the fixed side holding bodies 26b and 27b. Even when the directions of the transmission axes of the light and the ultrasonic wave are different, the light and the ultrasonic wave are easily focused on the part to be inspected.

FIG. 6 shows the focus adjustment and direction adjustment mechanism when the optical axis O and the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou are set in different directions, but the optical axis O and the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou are matched. In this case, it can be realized by arranging the lens holding portion 26 and the transducer holding portion 27 coaxially or in a stacked manner. This configuration will be described later (see FIG. 9).
FIG. 7 shows a region near the convergence point F of the ultrasonic wave in the second modification. 2 or 3, the ultrasonic transducer 2a is arranged only in one direction that forms an angle θ with the optical axis O. However, as shown in FIG. It may be arranged in one direction.
If it does in this way, the intensity | strength of backscattered light can be enlarged more and S / N can be improved. Note that two or more ultrasonic transducers 2a may be arranged around the optical axis O in a rotationally symmetrical manner.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration of an optical imaging apparatus 1F according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the optical axis O and the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou are set in different directions, but in this embodiment, the optical axis O and the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou are configured to coincide with each other. Thereby, the part which irradiates light and an ultrasonic wave to the biological tissue 7 side can be made compact.
In the present embodiment, pulsed ultrasonic waves are emitted in order to effectively detect only the Doppler shift amount Δf in the region R1 in the vicinity of the ultrasonic convergence point F. For this reason, the pulse generator 21 is employed instead of the signal generator 39 of FIG.
Further, the pulse delayed by the delay circuit 23 is input to the signal processing circuit 5c, and the signal processing circuit 5c performs frequency detection or frequency extraction of the Doppler shift amount Δf in this delayed short period.

In addition, the same components as those shown in FIG. Although FIG. 8 shows an example of a configuration in which ultrasonic waves are converged and light is not converged, a configuration in which light is also converged may be used. In this case, the S / N of the detected signal can be improved.
In this embodiment, since the angle θ formed by the optical axis O and the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou is 0 (cos θ = 1), it is possible to detect the Doppler shift amount Δf with the frequency shift being maximized. There is.
In addition, as described above, there is an effect that the portion that irradiates the living tissue with light and ultrasonic waves can be made more compact.

  Note that a continuous ultrasonic wave may be applied to the living tissue 7 from the ultrasonic transducer 2a by supplying a continuous electric signal to the power amplifier 22 instead of a pulse-shaped electric signal from the pulse generator 21. At this time, a pulsed reference signal is input to the signal processing circuit 5c at a time interval corresponding to the wavelength of the ultrasonic wave from the pulse generator 21, and the pulsed ultrasonic wave is irradiated by performing synchronous detection. A similar effect can be obtained.

FIG. 9 shows the periphery of the lens holding portion 26 ′ and the transducer holding portion 27 ′ in the first modification applied to the configuration of FIG. The light transmitted from the light source device 3b through the half mirror 13a passes through the collimating lens 38 of the lens holding portion 26 'provided on the optical axis O, and is held by a transducer provided adjacent to the optical axis O so as to substantially coincide with the optical axis O. The light is condensed and irradiated to the living tissue 7 side through the opening 15 in the portion 27 ′.
The lens holding unit 26 'and the transducer holding unit 27' move in directions orthogonal to the optical axis O and the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou, respectively, instead of the rotational movement in the lens holding unit 26 and the transducer holding unit 27 in FIG. There are only differences that have been made possible.

Then, for example, by adjusting the lens holding unit 26 ′ side, the illumination optical axis adjustment unit that moves in the direction indicated by the arrow C and can adjust the optical axis O to coincide with the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou. Is forming.
Further, by adjusting the transducer holding portion 27 'side, the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou can be moved as indicated by an arrow D, and a transmission axis adjusting portion that can be adjusted to coincide with the optical axis O is formed. is doing. For example, the lens frame 37 may be movable in the direction of the optical axis O and may be adjusted so that the convergence point F and the focal position Fo coincide.
According to this modification, even when the lens holding portion 26 ′ and the transducer holding portion 27 ′ are varied, adjustment can be made so that the convergence point F and the focal position Fo coincide. Optical imaging information can be obtained with a high S / N and resolution.
Further, since the illumination light is condensed, the frequency information can be extracted with a high S / N and resolution.

  In each of the above embodiments, either a pulse wave or a continuous wave may be used as the ultrasonic wave. Further, in each of the above embodiments, a two-dimensional detector such as a CCD or a one-dimensional line is used as the photodetector 4a. Sensors, and further point detectors such as Photodetector and photomultiplier tubes may be used. Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments, the Doppler shift amount may be detected by Fourier transform.

Next, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first and second embodiments, the case where the configuration includes a Michelson interferometer has been described. However, in this embodiment, a spectroscopic unit such as a liquid crystal tunable filter is provided without an interferometer. The configuration is provided.
FIG. 10 shows an optical imaging apparatus 1G of the third embodiment. The light from the light source device 3b provided in the unit 11 is incident on the half mirror 13a, and the light reflected by the half mirror 13a is applied to the living tissue 7 immersed in water 36. The unit 11 is moved two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally by the scanning unit 12. Note that, here, an example in which the present invention is applied to the living tissue 7 immersed in water 36 is shown, but a balloon filled with water may be adopted, or the acoustic lens 16 may be brought into direct contact.

Further, the ultrasonic wave emitted from the ultrasonic transducer 2a attached to the end face of the unit 11 is converged by the acoustic lens 16, and transmits the ultrasonic wave along the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou that forms an angle θ with the optical axis O. Irradiated into the living tissue 7 through the water 36.
The light that has been Doppler shifted in the vicinity region R1 of the ultrasonic convergence point F and scattered to the rear side is incident on the half mirror 13a, and a part thereof is transmitted. The light transmitted through the half mirror 13a is further reflected by the mirror 41 and then enters the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 as a spectroscopic means.
In the liquid crystal tunable filter 42, the transmission wavelength band of the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 changes according to the drive signal applied from the driver 43. The driver 43 drives the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 in synchronization with the scanning signal from the scanning signal generation circuit 24, for example.
The light transmitted through the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 is received by the photodetector 4a. The output signal of the photodetector 4a is input to the PC 6a through the signal processing circuit 5d.

The signal processing circuit 5d and the PC 6a perform scatter information extraction from the output signal of the photodetector 4a, object information generation, more specifically image formation processing. In this case, the scattered information extraction may be performed by the signal processing circuit 5d and the image forming process may be performed by the PC 6a.
The signal photoelectrically converted by the photodetector 4a is temporarily stored in a memory or the like in the PC 6a together with a drive signal for sweeping the transmission wavelength. Then, for example, the transmission wavelength (or Doppler shift amount Δf) at the time of detecting the Doppler shifted signal is calculated as follows.
When detecting a Doppler-shifted signal from the output signal of the photodetector 4a, for example, the PC 6a (inside CPU) extracts a peak signal detected as a Doppler-shifted signal detected above a threshold by comparison or the like (not shown). .

Further, the transmission wavelength is calculated from the information of the drive signal at the time of detecting the peak signal, and is stored in the memory together with the calculated transmission wavelength information. Note that the transmission wavelength value may be calculated from the timing by periodically changing the drive signal.
As will be described later, for example, a Doppler shifted signal may be detected from the output signal of the photodetector 4a by performing a Fourier transform in the PC 6a.
Further, a pulsed ultrasonic drive signal obtained by amplifying the pulse generated by the pulse generator 21 by the power amplifier 22 is applied to the ultrasonic transducer 2a. The pulse of the pulse generator 21 is input to, for example, the signal processing circuit 5d via the delay circuit or trigger circuit 44, and the signal processing circuit 5d outputs the scattered information extracted according to the pulse to the PC 6a.
In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic transducer 2a is shown to be driven in a pulsed (intermittent) manner, but may be driven in a continuous wave.

The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The description will be simplified with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
As in the case of FIG. 4, light and ultrasonic waves are first generated in steps S41 and S42. As described above, the ultrasonic waves are not limited to pulses and may be continuous waves.
Then, as shown in step S43, a Doppler shift phenomenon occurs in the vicinity region R1 of the convergence point F. In this case, the light intensity I (t) is obtained by squaring the expressions (2) and (3), and is expressed as the following expression (7).
I (t) = I _dc + I _ac cos {2π (f _s + Δf) t + φ}
= I _dc + I _ac cos {(ω _s + Δω) t + φ) (7)
Then, the transmission wavelength is changed by the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 as shown in step S44 ', and the light transmitted through the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 is detected by the photodetector 4a as shown in step S45'.

The output signal of the photodetector 4a is input to the PC 6a through the signal processing circuit 5d. The signal processing circuit 5d or the PC 6a extracts a signal that is actually Doppler shifted from the input signal. Then, the PC 6a stocks information such as Δf in the memory as optical imaging information as shown in step S46.
Subsequent steps S47 to S50 are the same as those described with reference to FIG.
Since this embodiment does not require an interferometer, there is an advantage that the apparatus configuration can be simplified. In addition, there is an advantage that the apparatus can be realized on a small scale.
In the above description, a case where a signal that has been Doppler shifted is detected from the output signal of the photodetector 4a using a comparator or the like has been described. However, a signal that has been Doppler shifted is detected using Fourier transform as follows. Anyway.

Expression (7) is Fourier-transformed by the PC 6a (or the signal processing circuit 5d), and becomes Expression (8).
F (ω) = ∫ {I _dc + I _ac cos (Δωt + φ)} e ^−jωt dt
_{= ∫ {I dc + I ac} cos (ω s t + Δωt + φ)} e -jωt dt (-T ≦ t ≦ T)
_{= 2I dc sinωT / ω + I} ac cosφ {sin (Δω + ω s -ω) T / (Δω + ω s -ω) + sin (Δω + ω s + ω) T / (Δω + ω s + ω)} + jI ac sinφ {sin (Δω + ω s -ω) T / (Δω + ω _s −ω) + sin (Δω + ω _s + ω) T / (Δω + ω _s + ω)} (8)
Here, the integration range on the upper right side of the equation (8) is −∞ to + ∞, and the integration range on the second right side is expressed as described on the right side thereof.

The real number component of the Fourier-transformed signal shown in equation (8) is as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the angular frequency ω _s + Δω having a large peak is detected, and the known angular frequency ω _s is subtracted to detect the angular frequency Δω of the Doppler shift.
FIG. 13 shows an optical imaging apparatus 1H of a first modification. The optical imaging apparatus 1H employs an acoustooptic diffraction grating 45a and a piezoelectric element 45b in place of the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 in the configuration of FIG.
The acousto-optic diffraction grating 45a and the piezoelectric element 45b change the grating interval of the diffraction grating when the drive signal from the driver 43 is applied to the piezoelectric element 45b, and the first order rotation with respect to the wavelength of the incident light. The corner changes. In other words, the acoustooptic diffraction grating 45a emits light (in a different direction) that is spectrally (wavelength-resolved) like a spectroscope.

The light wavelength-resolved by the acousto-optic diffraction grating 45a is detected by the photodetector 4a.
Other configurations are the same as those in FIG. The effect of this modification is the same as that of the apparatus of FIG.
FIG. 14 shows an optical imaging apparatus 1I according to a second modification. This optical imaging apparatus 1I is obtained by applying the apparatus of FIG. 10 to a transmission type.
The light from the light source device 3b on the unit 11a side travels along the optical axis O, passes through the water 36, and is irradiated into the living tissue 7.
This light undergoes Doppler shift in the ultrasonic convergence region, and a part thereof further travels on the optical axis O and passes through the living tissue 7. Then, the light enters the mirror 41 through the opening 19a of the light shielding plate 19 disposed on the optical axis O in the unit 11b, is reflected by the mirror 41, and enters the liquid crystal tunable filter 42.

The light transmitted through the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 is detected by the photodetector 4a. The units 11a and 11b are moved two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally by the scanning units 12a and 12b, respectively. In addition, the same components as those described with reference to FIG.
This modification has a difference in detecting transmitted light instead of detecting reflected light (returned light) in the apparatus of FIG. 10, but except this, it has the same effect as in the apparatus of FIG. Instead of the liquid crystal tunable filter 42, a spectroscopic device such as a spectroscope or an acoustooptic device may be used.
Although not shown, the apparatus shown in FIG. 13 can also have a transmitted light detection type configuration.

  The photodetector 4a in each of the above embodiments may be a point detector such as a photodiode or a photomultiplier tube, or a two-dimensional detector such as a one-dimensional line sensor or a CCD.

  Furthermore, regarding the embodiments of FIGS. 13 and 14, either continuous ultrasonic waves or pulse ultrasonic waves may be used by adjusting the drive waveform of the pulse generator 21. Further, in each of the above embodiments, the Doppler shift amount may be detected by Fourier transform without using spectroscopic means.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, for example, the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou and the optical axis O are arranged so as to be substantially coaxial, as in the case of the second embodiment of FIG. However, the present embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the Doppler shift amount is detected without causing interference with the reference light.
An optical imaging apparatus 1J shown in FIG. 15 has a configuration similar to, for example, the optical imaging apparatus 1F shown in FIG.
In the case of FIG. 8, the configuration is such that it interferes with the reference light. However, in this embodiment, the Doppler shift amount is detected by optical spectroscopy as in, for example, the third embodiment without causing interference with the reference light. It is configured to do.
The light from the light source device 3b that generates continuous light is partially reflected by the half mirror 13a, collected by the collimator lens 38, and irradiated to the living tissue 7 side. Further, the Doppler shifted light reflected by the ultrasonic convergence region R1 of the living tissue 7 is incident on the half mirror 13a, part of which is transmitted, and is incident on, for example, a liquid crystal tunable filter 42 as an optical spectroscopic unit. The

The liquid crystal tunable filter 42 changes its transmission wavelength when a drive signal is applied from the driver 43. The light transmitted through the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 is received by the photodetector 4a and subjected to photoelectric conversion.
The output signal of the photodetector 4a is input to the memory device 58, converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter in the memory device 58, and then stored in the memory together with scanning information. The information stocked in the memory device 58 is output to the output device display device 10 when, for example, information for one frame is generated, and the characteristic information of the subject is displayed as an image.

The pulse generated by the pulse generator 21 becomes a pulsed ultrasonic drive signal via the power amplifier 22, and is applied to the ultrasonic transducer 2a. The ultrasonic transducer 2a generates a pulse ultrasonic wave.
The pulses generated by the pulse generator 21 are input to the control device 46, and the control device 46 controls the scanning operation of the scanning device 49 in synchronization with the pulse ultrasonic waves. The control device 46 controls the generation of the drive signal of the driver 43 in synchronization with the pulse ultrasonic wave. The memory device 48 also stocks the output signal from the photodetector 4a in synchronization with the pulsed ultrasonic wave.
In the present embodiment, for example, the lens holding portion 26 'and the transducer holding portion 27' described in FIG. 9 are provided.

The light from the light source device 3 b is collected by the collimator lens 38, travels on the optical axis O, passes through the opening 15 of the ultrasonic transducer 2 a, and further irradiates the living tissue 7 through the water 36.
Part of the reflected light whose frequency is Doppler shifted in the vicinity of the convergence point R1 is incident on the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 through the collimating lens 38 and the half mirror 13a. The liquid crystal tunable filter 42 allows Doppler shifted light to be extracted as signal light.
Further, the pulsed ultrasonic wave emitted from the ultrasonic transducer 2a is converged by the acoustic lens 16 and irradiated to the living tissue 7 side. Further, the optical axis O of the collimator lens 38 and the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou can be adjusted so as to coincide with each other.

Then, for example, by adjusting the lens holding unit 26 ′ side, an illumination optical axis adjustment unit that enables adjustment so that the optical axis O coincides with the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou is formed.
In addition, a transmission axis adjustment unit is formed that can adjust the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou to coincide with the optical axis O by adjusting the transducer holding unit 27 'side.
The unit 11 is driven two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally by the scanning device 49 under the control of the control device 46. The scanning device 49 has both functions of the scanning signal generation circuit 24 and the scanning unit 12 in FIG.

The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In the first step S51, the light source device 3b generates continuous light. And this light is irradiated to the biological tissue 7 side. As shown in the next step S52, the pulse generator 21 generates a pulse, the pulsed ultrasonic drive signal generated through the power amplifier 22 is applied to the ultrasonic transducer 2a, and the ultrasonic transducer 2a performs pulse ultrasonic generation. Is generated. This pulsed ultrasonic wave is applied to the living tissue 7 while being converged by the acoustic lens 16.
As shown in step S53, along with the change in the refractive index when the pulsed ultrasonic wave reaches the vicinity of the ultrasonic convergence point, the light reaching this area is most Doppler shifted, and the reflected light is the liquid crystal tunable filter 42. Is incident on.

As shown in step S <b> 54, the driver 43 changes the transmission wavelength of the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 at the timing when the Doppler shifted reflected light enters the liquid crystal tunable filter 42. In this way, the driver 43 is controlled by the control device 46 so as to change the transmission wavelength of the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 within the time when the pulsed ultrasonic wave reaches the convergence point F.
Then, as shown in step S55, the light transmitted through the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 is received by the photodetector 4a.
As shown in the next step S56, the electrical signal received by the photodetector 4a and subjected to the Doppler shift is stored in the memory in the memory device 48 as optical imaging information together with the scanning position information. In this case, information on the transmission wavelength of the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 is also stored in the memory of the memory device 58. This makes it possible to calculate a physical quantity that reflects the Doppler shift amount Δf and refractive index change.

In the next step S57, the control device 46 determines whether scanning is the end. And when it does not correspond to a termination | terminus, the control apparatus 46 performs control which moves the convergence point of an ultrasonic wave, as shown to step S58.
That is, the control device 46 controls the operation of the scanning device 49 and moves the unit 11. And it returns to step S52 and repeats the process mentioned above.
In this way, when scanning is performed up to the end of the scanning range, the process proceeds from step S57 to step S59. In step S59, image generation for one frame is completed. Then, the image for one frame is sent to the output signal display device 10, and the output signal display device 10 displays an image reflecting, for example, the refractive index change Δn.

According to the present embodiment, the ultrasonic wave and the light are irradiated coaxially, and the Doppler shift light is received through the same optical path as the irradiation light, which can be realized with a compact device.
Although this embodiment employs an optical spectroscopic means, the Doppler shift amount Δf and the refractive index change (refractive index) are made to interfere with the reference light by using a spectrum analyzer or the like from the interference signal of the photodetector 4a. It is also possible to calculate a physical quantity that reflects the amount of change in the real part).
FIG. 17 shows an optical imaging apparatus 1K according to a modification of the fourth embodiment. This modification employs a spectroscopic device 50 ′ instead of the liquid crystal tunable filter 42 in FIG. 15.

The light wavelength-separated by the spectroscopic device 50 ′ is input to the photodetector 4 a and converted into an electric signal.
The output signal of the photodetector 4a is stored in a memory in the memory device 58 together with information used for wavelength separation by the spectroscopic device 50 'and information on the scanning position. The other configuration is the same as that of FIG.
This modification has the merit that the apparatus can be made compact as in the case of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 18 shows an optical imaging apparatus 1L of the fifth embodiment.
This optical imaging apparatus 1L is different from the optical imaging apparatus 1J of FIG. 15 in that the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou of the ultrasonic transducer 2a is different from the direction of the optical axis O (for example, the ultrasonic transmission axis Ou is different from the optical axis O by the angle θ). Direction). Further, in this embodiment, the light of the light source device 3b is branched by the half mirror 13a into the reference light to the reference mirror 14 side and the observation light to the living tissue 7 side, and the Doppler shifted light returning from the living tissue 7 side. Is made to interfere with the reference light. Also in this modification, continuous wave light is employed.
In this embodiment, the control device 46 controls the detection timing in the signal processing device 48 via the delay circuit 47. The signal processing device 48 includes a spectrum analyzer 48a to which an output signal from the photodetector 4a is input, and an A / D converter / CPU including a part of a PC, for example, an A / D converter, a CPU, and a memory. A memory 48b. The information stored in the A / D converter / CPU / memory 48 b is output to the output signal display device 10.

In this embodiment, for example, only the lens holding portion 26 'is provided.
The timing chart of the present embodiment is as shown in FIG. The light source device 3b generates continuous light as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 19B, the ultrasonic transducer 2a generates, for example, pulsed ultrasonic waves at regular intervals. For example, as shown in FIG. 19C, the pulse ultrasonic wave reaches the convergence point F after, for example, time Tf from the generation of the pulse ultrasonic wave by the ultrasonic transducer 2a.
The control device 46 performs control by applying, for example, a gate pulse so that the photodetector 4a detects the Doppler-shifted light at a timing delayed by this time Tf from the generation of the pulse ultrasonic wave. This operation is shown in FIG. 19D by detecting Doppler shifted light.

When the light detector 4a constantly outputs the light detection signal, the photodetector 4a controls the A / D converter / CPU / memory 48b side so as to capture the output signal of the light detector 4a at the above timing. To control.
Further, after detecting the Doppler shifted light, the convergence point F is moved by the scanning signal. In this way, it is possible to detect the Doppler shift amount Δf with respect to the inspection target region and obtain an image reflecting the refractive index change Δn.
FIG. 20 shows an optical imaging apparatus IM of a first modification of the fifth embodiment.
This optical imaging apparatus IM is configured such that the ultrasonic waves are not converged in the optical imaging apparatus IL of FIG. That is, the optical imaging apparatus IM is configured such that the acoustic lens 16 that converges the ultrasonic waves is not provided in the optical imaging apparatus IL of FIG. Further, the lens holding portion 26 'is not provided.

Since this modification does not converge the ultrasonic wave, it can be realized with a simple configuration. When the ultrasonic waves are not converged in this way, the ultrasonic transducer 2a side may be fixed. That is, since the ultrasonic waves are spread and irradiated, the light side focused by the collimator lens 38 can be scanned.
FIG. 21 shows an optical imaging apparatus IN of a second modification of the fifth embodiment. This optical imaging apparatus IN is obtained by providing a beam expander 50 between the light source device 3b and the half mirror 13a in the optical imaging apparatus IM of FIG. By doing so, the beam diameter can be increased, and the modulated light detection intensity can be amplified.
FIG. 22 shows an optical imaging apparatus IP of a third modification example of the fifth embodiment. This optical imaging apparatus IP is configured such that no interferometer is formed in the optical imaging apparatus IM of FIG.

For example, a configuration similar to that shown in FIG. The optical imaging apparatus IP collects the light reflected by the half mirror 13a in the apparatus shown in FIG.
The light reflected by the living tissue 7 side and transmitted through the half mirror 13a is reflected by the mirror 41 and incident on the spectroscopic device 5O ', and the dispersed light is detected by the photodetector 4a.
In addition, a pulsed ultrasonic drive signal is applied to the ultrasonic transducer 2a. In this case, the acoustic lens 16 is not provided, and the ultrasonic transducer 2a irradiates the living tissue 7 with pulsed ultrasonic waves that are not converged.
In this modification, the beam diameter of the light source device 3b is increased by the beam expander 5O and emitted to the half mirror 13a. The beam expander 5O may not be used.
This modification also has an effect that can be realized with a simple configuration. For further simplification, the collimating lens 38 in FIG. 22 may not be used. FIG. 23 shows a part of an optical imaging apparatus IQ that does not employ the collimating lens 38 and that irradiates light that is not condensed to the living tissue 7 side.

  In each of the above embodiments, the ultrasonic wave may be a pulse or a continuous wave. The photodetector 4a in the configuration of each of the above embodiments may be a point detector, a one-dimensional line detector, or a two-dimensional detector such as a CCD. Further, the Doppler shift amount may be detected by Fourier transform.

Next, Embodiment 6 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The optical imaging apparatus 1U according to the sixth embodiment illustrated in FIG. 24 is a type that detects a Doppler shift amount.
The optical imaging apparatus 1U includes a light source device 3b that generates light such as laser light that irradiates the living tissue 7.
The light from the light source device 3b is incident on the end face of the optical fiber 52a that guides the light, and is split into two lights through the optical fiber 52a in the optical coupler 53 provided in the middle thereof. One is guided through the optical fiber 52b to the light irradiating / receiving unit 54b that performs light irradiation and light receiving, and the other is guided through the optical fiber 52c to the reference light generating unit 55 side.

Further, the light that is irradiated to the living tissue 7 side through the water 36 that transmits ultrasonic waves by the optical fiber 52b and is returned by Doppler shift from the living tissue 7 side is incident on the optical fiber 52b as observation light. In the coupler 53, the interference light interferes with the light on the reference light side.
The interference light is received by the photodetector 4a disposed on the end face through the optical fiber 52d, and is photoelectrically converted.
The reference light generation unit converts the light emitted from the end face of the optical fiber 52c into a collimated light beam by the collimator lens 56, enters the fixed reference mirror 14, and reflects the light reflected by the reference mirror 14. The light is again incident on the end face of the optical fiber 52 c by the collimator lens 56.
The light irradiating / receiving unit 54b is provided with an ultrasonic transducer 57b, a scanning device 58, and an acoustic lens 59 in the vicinity of the end face of the optical fiber 52b that performs light irradiation (or light emission) and light reception.

The ultrasonic transducer 57b is processed to have, for example, a concave shape on the ultrasonic transmission surface side, and a pulsed ultrasonic drive signal amplified by the power amplifier 22 is applied from the pulse generator 21, thereby generating pulse ultrasonic waves. The pulse ultrasonic waves are converged and irradiated to the living tissue 7 side.
Further, the scanning device 58 scans the light irradiation / light receiving unit 54b two-dimensionally by applying the scanning signal from the scanning signal generation circuit 24 in synchronization with the pulsed ultrasonic drive signal. For example, scanning is performed in the depth direction of the living tissue 7, that is, the z direction, for example, the x direction orthogonal to the z direction.
An enlarged view of the end face of the optical fiber 52b is shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the optical fiber 52b includes a first optical fiber portion 60a composed of one or a plurality of optical fibers disposed in the central portion, and a plurality of optical fibers 52b disposed around the first optical fiber portion 60a. It is comprised by the 2nd optical fiber part 60b which consists of a fiber, ie, a fiber bundle.

Then, for example, as shown in the enlarged view of the optical coupler 53 in FIG. 26, the light from the light source device 3b is incident on the optical fiber 52a and branched into, for example, two in the first coupler section 53a constituting the optical coupler 53. The second optical fiber portion 60b of 52b and the second optical fiber portion 60b of the optical fiber 52c are guided.
Then, the guided laser beam is irradiated to the living tissue 7 side from the end face of the second optical fiber portion 60b. Further, the Doppler-shifted return light from the living tissue 7 side is received by the first first optical fiber portion 60a. The light received by the first optical fiber portion 60a is mixed with the first optical fiber portion 60a that guides the light on the reference light side in the second coupler portion 53b, and Doppler-shifted interference light is generated. Is done. The interference light is guided by the optical fiber 52d and received by the photodetector 4a.

The signal detected by the photodetector 4a is input to a signal processing circuit 5c such as a spectrum analyzer, and a Doppler shift amount Δf is detected.
Further, the signal processing circuit 5 c performs a signal extraction operation in synchronization with the timing delayed by the delay circuit 23 from the pulse generator 21.
The signal detected by the signal processing circuit 5c is input to an A / D conversion circuit in the PC main body 6c of the PC 6a. The PC body 6c includes a CPU, a memory, an A / D conversion circuit, and the like. The image display signal output from the PC main body 6 c is input to the monitor 35, and an image of optical imaging information is displayed on the display surface of the monitor 35.
A scanning signal is input from the scanning signal generating circuit 24 to the A / D conversion circuit in the PC main body 6c, and the scanning position information is calculated by taking in the scanning signal.

The control circuit 25 controls operations of the pulse generator 21, the scanning signal generation circuit 24, and the delay circuit 23. The control circuit 25 can transmit and receive control signals and the like with the CPU in the PC main body 6c, for example. The control circuit 25 can control the pulse generator 21 and the like, and can also control the pulse generator 21 and the like from the PC 6a side through the control circuit 25 or through the control circuit 25. Yes.
According to the present embodiment having such a configuration, by scanning the vicinity of the tip of the optical fiber 52b, optical imaging information corresponding to the real part of the complex refractive index can be obtained as in the first embodiment. Further, the scanning device 58 may be small in size and small in driving force. The other effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

FIG. 27 shows the configuration of an optical imaging apparatus 1V of a first modification of the sixth embodiment. This optical imaging apparatus 1V is configured not to form an interferometer. The optical imaging apparatus 1V is configured not to use the optical coupler 53 that separates and combines light in the optical imaging apparatus 1U of FIG.
In addition, the present modification employs a light source device 3c that generates continuous light, and is configured to generate continuous wave ultrasonic waves. Note that, as in the case of FIG. 24, a configuration in which continuous light and pulsed ultrasonic waves are employed may be employed.
The light from the light source device 3c is guided to the distal end surface thereof by the optical fiber bundle 52a ', and the light guided from the distal end surface in the light irradiating / receiving unit 54b that performs light irradiation and light reception is directed to the living tissue 7 side. Irradiated.

The optical fiber bundle 52a 'is formed with an optical fiber bundle portion 52b' that is integrated with the optical fiber 52d ', for example.
The optical fiber bundle portion 52b 'has a configuration similar to that shown in FIG. Specifically, as shown in the enlarged end view in FIG. 27, a concentric optical fiber 52d 'for receiving light is arranged at the center position, and optical fibers constituting the optical fiber bundle 52a' are arranged around it. It has a structure.
Further, a concave ultrasonic transducer 57b, a scanning device 58, and an acoustic lens 59 are provided outside the vicinity of the tip of the optical fiber bundle 52a '.

Then, the Doppler shifted light from the living tissue 7 side is received by the optical fiber 52d ′ arranged at the center position and guided to the base end face side. On the base end face, for example, a spectroscopic device 50 ′ is disposed, and the Doppler shifted light is optically separated and extracted. The extracted light is input to the photodetector 4a, becomes a photoelectrically converted electric signal, is input to the PC main body 6c, and is stored in the internal memory together with the information on the scanning position and the frequency separation information by the spectroscopic device 50 '. The
Since the present modification does not separate and extract the signal of the frequency component that is electrically Doppler shifted in the case of the configuration of FIG. 24, the output signal of the photodetector 4a in FIG. 24 is the signal processing circuit 5c. Without being routed to the PC main body 6c.

The timing of light generation by the light source device 3 c is controlled by the control circuit 25. In addition, the control circuit 25 synchronizes with the light generation timing, and the Doppler-shifted light reflected at the convergence point F on the living tissue 7 side is input to the PC main body 6c via the spectroscopic device 50 'and the photodetector 4a. At this timing, a control signal is sent to the PC main body 6c so as to capture the output signal of the photodetector 4a.
The ultrasonic transducer 57b is driven by an ultrasonic drive signal that has passed through the signal generator 39 and the power amplifier 22 as in the case of FIG.
Others are the same as the structure of FIG. This modification has the same effect as in the case of FIG. Further, the optical coupler 53 in FIG. 24, the reference light generation unit 55 for causing interference, and the like are not necessary, and a more compact device can be realized.

Note that other optical spectroscopic means (or wavelength separation / extraction means), specifically, a liquid crystal tunable filter, an acousto-optic element, a diffraction grating, or the like may be used instead of the spectroscopic device 50 'in this modification. .
FIG. 28 is a second modification of the sixth embodiment and shows a configuration of an endoscope apparatus 1W including an optical imaging apparatus.
In the present modification, for example, the endoscope 71 has a configuration corresponding to the light irradiation / light receiving unit 54b in the sixth embodiment.
In this endoscope 71, a hard distal end portion 73 provided at the distal end of the insertion portion 72 is provided with an illumination window for emitting illumination light and an observation window for performing observation (imaging). The front end side of the light guide 74 is attached to the illumination window, and the illumination light is emitted from the front end surface. Illumination light is incident on an end surface of the light guide 74 on the proximal side (not shown) from an endoscope light source device (not shown).

In addition, an objective lens 75 is attached to the observation window, and a CCD 76, for example, is disposed as an image pickup element at the imaging position. The CCD 76 is connected to a signal processor such as a video processor (not shown). The signal processor performs signal processing on the image signal captured by the CCD 76 to generate a video signal, and outputs the video signal to a monitor (not shown). To do.
The insertion portion 72 is provided with a channel 77 through which the treatment instrument can be inserted in the longitudinal direction, and the optical fiber 52 b is inserted into the channel 77.
Further, in the endoscope 71 in the present modification, for example, a scanning device 79 is attached to the distal end surface of the distal end portion 73, and an ultrasonic transducer 78 is attached to the driving surface of the scanning device 79.

Then, by applying the scanning signal of the scanning signal generation circuit 24 to the scanning device 79, the ultrasonic transducer 78 can be scanned two-dimensionally.
The ultrasonic transducer 78 in this modification is configured by, for example, an electronic scanning type ultrasonic transducer, and the ultrasonic transducer is configured by, for example, a plurality of transducer elements arranged along the x direction in FIG. By driving by controlling the delay time via an element or the like, the ultrasonic waves are emitted so as to converge, and can be converged at a convergence point F.
Then, as shown in FIG. 28, the ultrasonic convergence point F is set in the region within the irradiation site of the light emitted from the distal end surface of the optical fiber 52b, and the scanning device 79 is driven by the scanning signal in this state. Thus, the convergence point F is scanned two-dimensionally.

Other configurations are the same as those in FIG. 24, and a description thereof will be omitted. According to this modification, the endoscope 71 can inspect the living tissue 7 in the body cavity. Then, as shown in FIG. 28, the optical fiber 52b is inserted into the channel 77 for a part to be observed or diagnosed in more detail, such as a lesioned part, and the tip surface thereof is opposed to the observation target part.
Then, a pulsed ultrasonic drive signal is generated from the pulse generator 21 via the power amplifier 22 and a scanning signal is also generated to acquire two-dimensional imaging information for the peripheral portion of the observation target region, and display on the monitor 35. Display on the surface.
In this modification, a light irradiating unit that irradiates light to the endoscope 71, an ultrasonic irradiating unit that irradiates the ultrasonic wave so as to converge, and a scanning unit that two-dimensionally scans the ultrasonic convergence region; Therefore, it is possible to obtain optical imaging information for the living tissue 7 at a desired site in the body cavity.

Therefore, the living tissue 7 such as the affected part in the body cavity is optically endoscopically examined, and in that case, optical imaging information is acquired for a site to be diagnosed in more detail, such as a lesioned part, and displayed on the monitor 35. You can make it. In this way, it is possible to obtain information useful for more accurately diagnosing a lesion than when only endoscopy is performed.
As will be described below as a third modified example of this modified example, for example, a function of converging and irradiating the ultrasonic wave in the fourth embodiment to the tip opening portion of the channel 77 and a function of a scanning means are also provided. A light irradiation / light receiving portion 54b may be provided.
FIG. 29 shows a configuration in the vicinity of the front dark part of the endoscope 71 in the endoscope apparatus 1 × of the third modification example of the sixth embodiment. In this modification, the light irradiating / light receiving portion 54 b of FIG. 24 is detachably attached to the tip opening of the channel 77. By adopting such a configuration, the optical imaging information can be obtained by attaching the light irradiation / light receiving unit 54b to the channel of the existing endoscope. In addition, you may apply the thing of the structure of FIG. 27 to an endoscope similarly. In this case, the same effect can be obtained.

FIG. 30 shows a configuration example of the end portion of the optical fiber 52b in the fourth modification. As shown in FIG. 25, the optical fiber 52b has a first optical fiber portion 60a disposed at the center thereof, and a second optical fiber portion 60b formed of a plurality of fibers disposed around the first optical fiber portion 60a.
In the optical fiber 52b of FIG. 30, the end surface of the second optical fiber portion 60b is processed so as to form a concave surface such as a paraboloid that is rotationally symmetric with respect to the axis of the first optical fiber portion 60a at the center. Further, a collimating lens (or a condensing lens) 60c for condensing light is attached to the end face.
The light emitted from the end face of each second optical fiber portion 60b can be focused on the focal position _Fo . By doing in this way, optical imaging information with good S / N can be acquired.

  In each of the above embodiments, the ultrasonic wave may be either a pulse or a continuous wave, and the photodetector 4a is a two-dimensional detection such as a photodiode, a photomultiplier tube, a one-dimensional line type detector, a CCD or the like. Any of the vessels may be used.

  In each of the above embodiments, the Doppler shift amount may be detected by Fourier transform.

  Next, Embodiment 7 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 31 shows a configuration of an optical imaging apparatus 1Z according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a plurality of ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection units in which an ultrasonic emission unit and a light irradiation / light detection unit are integrally formed are arranged one-dimensionally along a line. This configuration employs a sound wave emission / light irradiation / detection array 95. With this configuration, one-dimensional optical imaging information can be obtained without performing scanning using one ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection array 95. This has the effect of shortening the time for one-dimensional optical imaging information.

Further, two-dimensional optical imaging information can be obtained by scanning the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection array 95 one-dimensionally.
As will be described later, by using the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection array 95B in which a plurality of ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection units are two-dimensionally arranged, scanning of an ultrasonic transducer or the like is not performed. However, two-dimensional imaging information can also be obtained.

In this embodiment, the scattering information is calculated by extracting the Doppler shift amount Δf.
Light in the visible or near-infrared wavelength region emitted from the light source device 91 is incident on each optical fiber constituting an optical fiber array 92a configured by arranging a plurality of (for example, p) optical fibers. . The light incident on each optical fiber is branched by an optical coupler 93 into an optical fiber side of the optical fiber array 92c and an optical fiber 92bi (i is one of 1 to p) on the optical fiber array 92b side. .

As for the light guided to the optical fiber of the optical fiber array 92c, the reference light is generated in the reference light generation unit 55 as in the case of FIG. 24 and returns to the optical coupler 93 side.
In addition, the light guided to the optical fiber 92bi on the optical fiber array 92b side is the ultrasonic transducer 57-i of the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection unit (which constitutes the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection array 95). The biological tissue 7 is irradiated through the opening provided in the body.
As shown in the enlarged view in the lower right part of FIG. 31, the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection array 95 has a plurality of ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection units arranged in the x direction, for example. Each of the ultrasonic wave emission / light irradiation / detection units converges the ultrasonic wave at the convergence point F by the ultrasonic transducer 57-i serving as a component thereof.

The convergence point F is irradiated with light from the light irradiation / detection unit by the end face of the optical fiber 92bi constituting the optical fiber array 92b, and the Doppler-shifted return light that passes through the region R1 near the convergence point F. Receive light.
The light received by the optical fiber 92bi of the optical fiber array 92b is mixed with the reference light by the optical fiber on the optical fiber array 92c side in the optical coupler section 93 as observation light, and Doppler shifted interference light is generated.
Each interference light is guided by the optical fiber of the optical fiber array 92d, and is received and photoelectrically converted by each photodetector 4a constituting the photodetector array 96 from its end face. The output signals photoelectrically converted by the photodetectors 4a constituting the photodetector array 96 are input to, for example, a multi-channel spectrum analyzer 5e.

The spectrum analyzer 5e extracts the interference signal of the Doppler shift amount Δf output from each photodetector 4a almost simultaneously.
A plurality of interference signals output from the spectrum analyzer 5e are stocked from a plurality of input channels in the PC 6a to a memory in the PC 6a.
In addition, the scanning signal generation circuit 24B in the present embodiment drives the scanning device 98 to which, for example, the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection array 95 is attached, for example, to scan in the y direction. Then, two-dimensional optical imaging information can be obtained. Here, the pulse generator 21 'has the functions of the pulse generator 21 and the power amplifier 22 of FIG.

FIG. 32 shows a state in which two-dimensional (2D) optical imaging information is obtained by scanning the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection array 95 in the y direction, for example. One-dimensional (1D) optical imaging information in the x direction is obtained by the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection units arranged in a line, and the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection unit 2 is scanned by scanning in the y direction. Dimensional optical imaging information is obtained.
The scanning signal generation circuit 24B may drive the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection array 95 so as to perform two-dimensional scanning in the y-direction and the z-direction so that three-dimensional optical imaging information can be obtained. .
According to this embodiment, two-dimensional or three-dimensional optical imaging information can be obtained at high speed.

Since the resolution in the x direction of the obtained optical imaging information depends on the number of optical fiber arrays 92b, the resolution may be dramatically improved by scanning in the x direction.
FIG. 33 shows a schematic configuration of an ultrasonic wave emission / light irradiation / detection array 95B in the optical imaging apparatus of the first modification. In this modification, in the optical imaging apparatus 1Z of FIG. 31, the number of optical fibers constituting the optical fiber arrays 92a, 92b, etc. is increased (for example, an integral multiple or more in the case of FIG. 31). Correspondingly, the number of ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection units also increases.
In this modification, the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection array 95B is configured by two-dimensionally arranging the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection units on the end side in the optical fiber array 92b in the x and y directions. is doing.

As shown in FIG. 33, the optical fiber array 92b has, for example, m sets of p optical fibers 92b1 to 92bp provided in, for example, a belt shape, and each of these optical fibers 92bi is two-dimensionally connected to the scanning device 98. It is attached to each opening provided.
Note that an ultrasonic transducer (not shown in FIG. 33) as shown in FIG. 31 is attached to the bottom side of the scanning device 98. Then, two-dimensional optical imaging information (see FIG. 34) can be obtained in a state where the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection array 95B is not scanned.
In this modification, the PC 6a also outputs an output signal output from the spectrum analyzer 5e with an address corresponding to a two-dimensional array of ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection units constituting the ultrasonic emission / light irradiation / detection array 95B. Stock in memory.

Further, in this modification, the scanning device 98 is driven in the z direction by the scanning signal so that the three-dimensional optical imaging information can be obtained as shown in FIG.
Note that, as described in the fourth embodiment, higher-resolution optical imaging information may be obtained by scanning in the x and y directions as described in the fourth embodiment. Also in this modification, two-dimensional or three-dimensional optical imaging information can be obtained at high speed.
As a further modification of this modification, two-dimensional optical imaging information may be obtained without performing scanning.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the light may be converged. In each of the above embodiments, either pulsed ultrasonic waves or continuous ultrasonic waves may be used. Further, the Doppler shift amount may be detected by Fourier transform without using a signal processing circuit such as a spectral analyzer.
In each of the above embodiments, the light scattering information based on the real part of the complex refractive index is detected. For example, information on the living tissue is acquired based on inelastic scattering information such as fluorescence and phosphorescence. You may do it.
In addition, embodiments configured by partially combining the above-described embodiments belong to the present invention.

Light is applied to the inspection target area where the living tissue is irradiated with ultrasonic waves, Doppler-shifted light is detected as the observation light at the ultrasonic irradiation area, and light scattering information corresponding to the real part of the complex refractive index is detected. By enabling detection and imaging, information highly correlated with the structural change of the diseased tissue can be obtained, and can be effectively used for diagnosis of the diseased tissue.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration example of a subject information analysis apparatus of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an optical imaging apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of Doppler shift in the vicinity of the ultrasonic convergence region. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a waveform example with respect to an angular frequency of a real component of a Fourier-transformed signal. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the structure of a lens holding portion and a transducer holding portion in a first modification. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a Doppler shift in the vicinity of the convergence point of the ultrasonic wave in the second modification. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an optical imaging apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a lens holding unit and a transducer holding unit in a modification of the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an optical imaging apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the third embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a waveform example with respect to an angular frequency of a real component of a Fourier-transformed signal. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an optical imaging apparatus according to a first modification. FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an optical imaging apparatus according to a second modification. FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an optical imaging apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an optical imaging apparatus according to a modification of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the optical imaging apparatus according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 19 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the fifth embodiment. FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an optical imaging apparatus according to a first modification of the fifth embodiment. FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an optical imaging apparatus according to a second modification of the fifth embodiment. FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an optical imaging apparatus according to a third modification of the fifth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a partial configuration in a fourth modification of the fifth embodiment. FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an optical imaging apparatus according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a structure of an end face of an optical fiber. FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an optical coupler. FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an optical imaging apparatus according to a first modification of the sixth embodiment. FIG. 28 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an endoscope apparatus according to a second modification including an optical imaging apparatus. FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a configuration on the distal end side of an endoscope in an optical imaging apparatus according to a third modification. FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an optical fiber in a fourth modification. FIG. 31 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an optical imaging apparatus according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention. FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram of an operation for obtaining two-dimensional optical imaging information by one-dimensional scanning in the seventh embodiment. FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ultrasonic wave / light irradiation / detection array unit in a first modification. FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the ultrasonic wave / light irradiation / detection array unit of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1E, 1F ... Optical imaging apparatus 2 ... Ultrasonic generator 2a ... Ultrasonic transducer 3 ... Illumination light generator 3b ... Light source device 4 ... Reflected light receiving part 4a ... Photo detector 5 ... Frequency information extraction part 5c ... Signal processing circuit 6 ... Scattering information extraction unit 6 '... Subject information generation unit 6a ... PC
7 ... Living tissue 11 ... Unit 12 ... Scanning unit 13a ... Half mirror 16 ... Acoustic lens 24 ... Scanning signal generation circuit 33 ... CPU
35 ... Monitor 38 ... Collimating lens

Claims (21)

An ultrasonic generation means capable of generating an ultrasonic wave on a subject along a predetermined ultrasonic transmission axis;
Illuminating light generating means capable of generating illuminating light that reaches an examination site in the subject to which the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic generating means are transmitted;
A light receiving means for receiving the frequency-modulated light from the examination target site that the illumination light has reached;
Frequency information extraction means for optically or electrically extracting frequency information of the frequency-modulated light;
Based on the frequency information extracted by the frequency information extracting means, the scattering information extracting means for extracting light scattering information in the examination target part reached by the illumination light,
Subject information generating means for generating characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target part to which the illumination light has arrived, based on light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extracting means;
An object information analyzing apparatus comprising: An ultrasonic generation means capable of generating an ultrasonic wave on a subject along a predetermined ultrasonic transmission axis;
It is arranged on the same side as the ultrasonic wave generating means with respect to the subject, and can generate illumination light that reaches the examination target site in the subject to which the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic wave generating means is transmitted Illumination light generating means,
Reflected light receiving means that is disposed on the same side as the ultrasonic wave generating means with respect to the subject, and is provided so as to be able to receive light reflected from the examination target site that the illumination light has reached;
Frequency information extracting means for extracting frequency information obtained from a light receiving signal received by the reflected light receiving means;
Based on the frequency information extracted by the frequency information extracting means, the scattering information extracting means for extracting light scattering information in the examination target part reached by the illumination light,
Subject information generating means for generating characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target part to which the illumination light has arrived, based on light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extracting means;
An object information analyzing apparatus comprising: An ultrasonic generation means capable of generating an ultrasonic wave on a subject along a predetermined ultrasonic transmission axis;
It is arranged on the same side as the ultrasonic wave generating means with respect to the subject, and can generate illumination light that reaches the examination target site in the subject to which the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic wave generating means is transmitted Illumination light generating means,
Reflected light receiving means that is disposed on the same side as the ultrasonic wave generating means with respect to the subject, and is provided so as to be able to receive light reflected from the examination target site that the illumination light has reached;
Frequency information extracting means for extracting frequency information by causing interference between illumination light generated by the illumination light generating means and reflected light received by the reflected light receiving means;
Based on the frequency information extracted by the frequency information extracting means, the scattering information extracting means for extracting light scattering information in the examination target part reached by the illumination light,
Subject information generating means for generating characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target part to which the illumination light has arrived, based on light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extracting means;
An object information analyzing apparatus comprising: An ultrasonic generation means capable of generating an ultrasonic wave on a subject along a predetermined ultrasonic transmission axis;
It is arranged on the same side as the ultrasonic wave generating means with respect to the subject, and can generate illumination light that reaches the examination target site in the subject to which the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic wave generating means is transmitted Illumination light generating means,
Reflected light receiving means that is disposed on the same side as the ultrasonic wave generating means with respect to the subject, and is provided so as to be able to receive light reflected from the examination target site that the illumination light has reached;
A spectroscopic means for dispersing the reflected light received by the reflected light receiving means;
Scattering information extraction means for extracting light scattering information in the examination target part reached by the illumination light, based on a spectral result obtained by spectroscopy by the spectroscopic means;
Subject information generating means for generating characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target part to which the illumination light has arrived, based on light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extracting means;
An object information analyzing apparatus comprising: An ultrasonic generation means capable of generating an ultrasonic wave on a subject along a predetermined ultrasonic transmission axis;
It is arranged on the same side as the ultrasonic wave generating means with respect to the subject, and can generate illumination light that reaches the examination target site in the subject to which the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic wave generating means is transmitted Illumination light generating means,
Reflected light receiving means that is disposed on the same side as the ultrasonic wave generating means with respect to the subject, and is provided so as to be able to receive light reflected from the examination target site that the illumination light has reached;
Frequency component extraction means for extracting a frequency component by converting the frequency of the received light signal received by the reflected light receiving means;
Scattering information extraction means for extracting light scattering information in the examination target part reached by the illumination light based on the frequency component extracted by the frequency component extraction means;
Subject information generating means for generating characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target part to which the illumination light has arrived, based on light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extracting means;
An object information analyzing apparatus comprising:   6. The subject information analyzing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the frequency component extracting means includes Fourier transform means for extracting a frequency component by Fourier transform.   6. The object information analyzing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said frequency component extracting means includes wavelet transform means for extracting frequency components by wavelet transform.   The object information analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic wave generation unit includes a focus adjustment unit that focuses on a predetermined position of the object.   The subject according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the illumination light generating means includes an illumination light converging unit that converges the illumination light to a predetermined position within the position irradiated with the ultrasonic waves. Information analysis device.   The subject information analysis apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image forming unit that forms an image based on characteristic information of the subject generated by the subject information generating unit.   The object information analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic wave generation unit includes a pulse ultrasonic wave generation unit that generates the ultrasonic wave as a pulse wave.   The object information analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the illumination light generation unit includes a pulse light generation unit that irradiates the illumination light as pulse light.   13. The subject information analyzing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a scanning unit that scans so that an irradiation position of the illumination light by the illumination light generation unit changes at least one-dimensionally.   The object information analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light scattering information is information corresponding to a real part of a complex refractive index of the examination target part.   An ultrasonic generator capable of generating ultrasonic waves with respect to the subject along a predetermined ultrasonic transmission axis; and an inspection target site in the subject to which the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic generator are transmitted An illumination light generator capable of generating illumination light that reaches, a reflected light receiver provided so as to be capable of receiving frequency-modulated light that is reflected from the examination target site that the illumination light has reached,
  Based on a light reception signal received by the reflected light receiving unit, a scattering information extraction unit that extracts light scattering information in the inspection target site reached by the illumination light;
  A subject information generating unit that generates characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target site reached by the illumination light, based on light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extracting unit;
  Have
  The illumination light generator is disposed around the ultrasonic generator,
  The information extractor extracts a frequency information extractor that extracts frequency information obtained from a light reception signal received by the reflected light receiver, and the illumination light reaches based on the frequency information extracted by the frequency information extractor. And a scattering information extraction unit for extracting light scattering information in the examination target site,
  The object information generation unit generates the characteristic information of the object corresponding to the examination target portion reached by the illumination light based on the light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extraction unit. Endoscope device.   An ultrasonic generator capable of generating ultrasonic waves with respect to the subject along a predetermined ultrasonic transmission axis; and an inspection target site in the subject to which the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic generator are transmitted An illumination light generator capable of generating illumination light that reaches, a reflected light receiver provided so as to be capable of receiving frequency-modulated light that is reflected from the examination target site that the illumination light has reached,
  Based on a light reception signal received by the reflected light receiving unit, a scattering information extraction unit that extracts light scattering information in the inspection target site reached by the illumination light;
  A subject information generating unit that generates characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target site reached by the illumination light, based on light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extracting unit;
  Have
  The illumination light generator is disposed around the ultrasonic generator,
  The information extracting unit extracts frequency information by causing the illumination light generated by the illumination light generating unit and the reflected light received by the reflected light receiving unit to interfere with each other, and the frequency information extracting unit Based on the frequency information extracted in step 1, a scattering information extraction unit that extracts light scattering information in the examination target site reached by the illumination light,
  The object information generation unit generates the characteristic information of the object corresponding to the examination target portion reached by the illumination light based on the light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extraction unit. Endoscope device.   An ultrasonic generator capable of generating ultrasonic waves with respect to the subject along a predetermined ultrasonic transmission axis; and an inspection target site in the subject to which the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic generator are transmitted An illumination light generator capable of generating illumination light that reaches, a reflected light receiver provided so as to be capable of receiving frequency-modulated light that is reflected from the examination target site that the illumination light has reached, and
  Based on a light reception signal received by the reflected light receiving unit, a scattering information extraction unit that extracts light scattering information in the inspection target site reached by the illumination light;
  A subject information generating unit that generates characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target site reached by the illumination light, based on light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extracting unit;
  Have
  The illumination light generator is disposed around the ultrasonic generator,
  The information extraction unit converts the frequency of the received light signal received by the reflected light receiving unit to extract a frequency component, and the illumination light reaches based on the frequency component extracted by the frequency component extraction unit. And a scattering information extraction unit for extracting light scattering information in the examination target site,
  The object information generation unit generates the characteristic information of the object corresponding to the examination target portion reached by the illumination light based on the light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extraction unit. Endoscope device.   The endoscope apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the frequency component extraction unit includes a Fourier transform unit that extracts a frequency component by Fourier transform.   An ultrasonic generation step for generating ultrasonic waves on the subject along a predetermined ultrasonic transmission axis;
  An illumination light generation step for generating illumination light that reaches a region to be examined in the subject to which the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic generation step is transmitted;
  A light receiving step for receiving frequency-modulated light from the examination target site reached by the illumination light;
  A frequency information extraction step for optically or electrically extracting frequency information of the frequency-modulated light;
  Based on the frequency information extracted in the frequency information extraction step, a scattering information extraction step of extracting light scattering information in the examination target site reached by the illumination light,
  A subject information generating step for generating characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target portion reached by the illumination light, based on light scattering information extracted by the scattering information extracting step;
  An object information analysis method comprising:   An ultrasonic generation step of generating ultrasonic waves on the subject along a predetermined ultrasonic transmission axis by the ultrasonic generator;
  An illumination light generation step of generating illumination light that reaches a predetermined position within the position irradiated with the ultrasonic wave by the illumination light generation unit;
  A reflected light receiving step for receiving light reflected from a portion corresponding to the position where the illumination light reaches by the reflected light receiving unit;
  A frequency information extraction step of extracting frequency information obtained from the light reception signal received in the reflection step light reception step;
  Based on the frequency information extracted in the frequency information extraction step, a scattering information extraction step of extracting light scattering information in the examination target site reached by the illumination light,
  A subject information generating step for generating characteristic information of the subject corresponding to the examination target part to which the illumination light has arrived, based on light scattering information extracted in the scattering information extracting step;
  A method for analyzing subject information, comprising:   21. The object information analyzing method according to claim 19, wherein the light scattering information is information corresponding to a real part of a complex refractive index of the examination target site.

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