JPH09206278A - Ophthalmic picture processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display clearly the effective portion of an image of the fundus oculi. SOLUTION: Illuminating light reflected from the fundus oculi Er is focused via an objective lens 2, a focusing lens 11, a photographic lens 12, and a switching mirror 13 onto the photographic image surface of a motion picture observing camera 15, and an image Er' of the fundus oculi and a mask image M from a character generation means 16 are projected onto a motion picture observing monitor 17. Flare around the image Er' of the fundus oculi is masked, and an effective part that coincides with a photographic range in which still pictures of the fundus oculi Er are taken is displayed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ophthalmic image processing apparatus used for an ophthalmic examination in an ophthalmology clinic.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a fundus camera, a mask is used as a recording means such as a film as a light-shielding member for shielding light toward the peripheral region in order to remove flare generated around the fundus image and clarify an effective photographing range. In this case, the image is taken immediately before the image pickup, or a mask is placed on the image forming plane, and the mask and the optical system for re-forming the fundus image are placed behind it.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, an electronic image pickup device such as a CCD camera is used, and various filters, a cover glass and the like are arranged immediately before the image pickup surface, so that the mask is used. Is difficult to arrange, especially when a three-plate camera having three image pickup elements behind a color dividing prism such as a 3P prism is used, the mask and the fundus image are optically reconstructed to capture the mask. Since an image must be formed, the optical path length becomes long and the optical system becomes complicated.

Further, in the case of magnifying the image, there is a drawback that the observation range is narrowed because the portion without flare is blocked by the mask, and in order to compensate for this drawback, the size of the mask is changed to the imaging magnification. However, there is a problem in that the structure and control of the device become complicated if the change is made according to the above.

Further, in the case of the fundus camera, since an optical system for focusing according to the diopter of the eye to be inspected is used, an image of the fundus is formed depending on the diopter of the eye to be in focus. The magnification will change, and with a mask of a certain size, there will be problems such as hiding even the part where good shooting was possible, and flare mixing around.

A first object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide an ophthalmologic image processing apparatus capable of clearly displaying the effective portion of the fundus image.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an ophthalmic image processing apparatus having a short optical path length and a simple structure.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an ophthalmologic image processing apparatus capable of observing a wide range even during magnified photographing.

[0009]

An ophthalmic image processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is characterized in that an unnecessary area in an obtained ophthalmic image is electrically masked.

An ophthalmic image processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention includes an image pickup means for converting a picked-up image into an electric signal, and a conversion means for converting a peripheral area including the outside of the fundus image area picked up by the image pickup means into a pattern image. It is characterized by having.

An ophthalmic image processing apparatus according to a third aspect of the invention is a photographing optical system for photographing a fundus image, an image pickup means for converting an image picked up through the photographing optical system into an electric signal, and the image pickup means picks up an image. And a conversion unit for converting a region of the image corresponding to the photographing magnification or the focused state of the photographing optical system into a pattern image.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a fundus camera. On a light path from an observation alignment light source 1 such as a lamp to an objective lens 2, a condenser lens 3, a still image capturing light source 4 such as a strobe, a condenser lens 5, and a mirror 6 are provided. , A lens 7, a diaphragm 8 having a ring-shaped aperture, a relay lens 9, and a perforated mirror 10 having an aperture in the central portion are sequentially arranged. On the optical path behind the perforated mirror 10,
Focus lens 11, photographing lens 1 having a variable magnification function
2, a switching mirror 13, and a high-definition camera 14 such as a digital camera for still image shooting are sequentially arranged, and a high-sensitivity camera 15 for observing a moving image is provided in the reflection direction of the switching mirror 13.
Is arranged.

The output of the moving image observing camera 15 is connected to the moving image observing monitor 17 through the character generating means 16, and the output of the character generating means 16 is connected to the focus lens 11 and the photographing lens 12, respectively. The output of the focus knob 18 is also connected to. The output of the still image capturing camera 14 is connected to the control means 19 having an image memory, and the output of the control means 19 is a still image reproduction monitor 20 such as a computer display, and an external storage means 21 such as an optical disk or a magnetic disk. Respectively connected to. The output of the photographing switch 22 is connected to the still image photographing light source 4, and the output of the photographing switch 22 is connected to the control means 19. The output of the zoom switch 23 for changing the photographing magnification is connected to the character generating means 16 and the control means 19, respectively.

In such a configuration, the light flux emitted from the observation alignment light source 1 passes through the condenser lens 3, the still image photographing light source 4, the condenser lens 5, and the mirror 6.
Is reflected upward by the lens 7, the aperture of the diaphragm 8 and the relay lens 9, and is reflected to the left by the perforated mirror 10, passes through the objective lens 2, and passes through the pupil Ep of the eye E to be examined. Illuminate the fundus Er. The fundus image Er ′ illuminated in this way passes through the pupil Ep of the eye E, the objective lens 2, the focus lens 11, and the taking lens 12, and is reflected downward by the switching mirror 13, and the taken image of the moving image observation camera 15 is taken. Form an image on the surface. Then, the fundus image Er ′ is converted into an electric signal, passes through the character generation means 16 and reaches the moving image observation monitor 17, and the fundus image Er ′ and the mask generated by the character generation means 16 are displayed on the moving image observation monitor 17. The images M and M are projected, and the flare portion around the fundus image Er 'is masked, so that only the effective portion corresponding to the imaging range of the still image capturing of the fundus Er is displayed.

The photographer confirms the photographed region, alignment, and focus state while looking at the fundus image Er '. If the focus is out of focus, the focus knob 18 is operated to move the focus knob 18. The focus lens 11 interlocked with is moved in the optical axis direction to perform focusing. As a result, the imaging magnification of the fundus Er and the image sensor changes, so the character generating means 16 detects this focusing information, determines the optimum effective range, and responds to that range on the moving image observation monitor 17. Generate a mask image. Further, since the range of the effective image on the moving image observing monitor 17 changes with the focusing operation, the control means 16 prepares to shield the same range as the effective image range by the transmitted focusing information.

When the examiner operates the photographing switch 22 after the preparation is completed, the switching mirror 13 is retracted out of the optical path and the still image photographing light source 4 emits light. The light flux emitted from the still image capturing light source 4 reaches the lens 5, and thereafter illuminates the fundus Er through the same optical path as the light flux emitted from the observation alignment light source 1. The fundus image Er 'illuminated in this way
From the pupil Ep passes through the objective lens 2, the hole portion of the perforated mirror 10, the focus lens 11 and the photographing lens 12 and forms an image on the photographing image plane of the still image photographing camera 14. The image thus captured is converted into an electric signal in the still image capturing camera 14, then converted into a digital signal and transferred to the memory in the control means 19.

FIG. 2 shows an image captured by the still image capturing camera 14. This fundus image Er 'is surrounded by the flare F, and the boundary area of the fundus image Er' effective for diagnosis is not clear.
Therefore, a predetermined mask image is superposed on this image, or the data of the predetermined area is rewritten to the data of the black level display and displayed on the still image monitor 20. In this way, the fundus image Er ′ is surrounded by the mask image M as shown in FIG. 3, and the region effective for diagnosis is clearly displayed.

It should be noted that a mark S indicating the vertical direction, which is effective when printed out, and data D indicating the subject or the photographing state may be displayed together with the mask image M. Further, the camera number in the data D identifies the fundus camera or the image sensor used for photographing, and is effective when comparing the recorded image with other images or correcting the image by image processing or the like. Become. Then, this image is stored in the external storage means 21, the switching mirror 13 returns to the optical path, and a series of photographing is completed. The data D indicating the subject or the imaging state at this time may be stored separately from the mask image M and the fundus oculi image Er '.

As described above, since the fundus image Er 'can be photographed without passing through an optical mask, the optical path can be shortened and the construction is facilitated. In particular, like a three-panel television camera having a 3P prism. This is effective when it is difficult to dispose a mask immediately before the image sensor.

Further, when the fundus image Er 'and the data showing the subject or the photographing state are displayed on the same screen, the fundus image Er' is displayed.
The background image other than the above can be darkened to make it easier to observe the data, and the data other than the effective image area can be reliably set to a constant value, so noise data can be removed to reduce the amount of information as an image. It is possible to reduce the number of images, and it is possible to perform image compression while keeping the image quality of the effective portion more favorable.
As a result, the memory can be used efficiently.

When taking a magnified image, when the photographer operates the zoom switch 23, the photographing lens 12 moves, and information concerning the image forming magnification is transmitted to the character generating means 16 and the control means 19, and the control means 19 causes the control means 19 to move. The light amounts of the observation alignment light source 1 and the still image photographing light source 4 are controlled according to their magnifications. The fundus Er is illuminated by the light flux emitted from the observation alignment light source 1, and the fundus image Er ′ passes through the same path as described above and is enlarged and imaged on the image pickup surface of the still image observation camera 14. This image is converted into a video signal, input to the character generation means 15, and combined with a mask image having a size corresponding to the photographing magnification to be displayed on the moving image observation monitor 17. FIG. 4 shows an image displayed on the moving image observing monitor 17, in which an enlarged fundus image Er ′ and a mask image M corresponding to the image are displayed.

The photographer confirms the photographed region, alignment, and the state of focus while looking at the fundus image Er '. If the subject is out of focus, the photographer performs focusing by the same method as described above. When the photographer operates the photographing switch 22 after these preparations are completed, the switching mirror 13 is retracted out of the optical path, and the still image photographing light source 4 emits light. The light flux emitted from the still image capturing light source 4 reaches the lens 5, and thereafter illuminates the fundus Er through the same optical path as the light flux emitted from the observation alignment light source 1. The thus-illuminated fundus image Er ′ is taken from the pupil Ep through the objective lens 2, the hole portion of the perforated mirror 10, the focus lens 11, and the photographing lens 12 arranged to perform magnified photographing, and a still image is photographed. An image is formed on the imaging surface of the camera 14 for use.

The image picked up as described above is converted into an electric signal in the still image photographing camera 14, then converted into a digital signal and transferred to the memory in the control means 19. FIG. 5 shows an image immediately after being output from the still image capturing camera 14, and the enlarged fundus image Er ′ is surrounded by the flare F, and the region of the fundus image Er ′ effective for diagnosis is not clear. A predetermined mask image M is added to this image.
Or the data in a predetermined area is rewritten to data representing a black level, and the still image reproducing monitor 20 is displayed.
To be displayed.

FIG. 6 shows an image after the mask composition, which is a fundus image.
Er 'is surrounded by the mask image M and a region effective for diagnosis is clearly displayed. Further, a mark S indicating the vertical direction effective when printed out and data D indicating the subject and the photographing state may be displayed together with the mask image M, and when these data overlap the fundus image Er '. Should be able to be erased arbitrarily. Then, this image is stored in the external storage means 21, the switching mirror 13 is returned to the optical path, and a series of photographing is completed. The data D indicating the subject and the imaging state may be stored separately from the mask image M and the fundus oculi image Er '.

As described above, since the size of the mask can be changed according to the photographing magnification, a wide range can be observed and recorded even when the image is magnified for observation or photographing. Even when the imaging magnification changes when performing focusing by performing focusing, the effective range can always be observed and recorded without waste.

Further, in the present embodiment, the mask image M is created after being temporarily stored in the memory at the time of shooting a still image.
When A / D converting an electric signal into digital data, only a predetermined mask area may be converted into a black level, and if these functions are incorporated in one fundus camera, , It becomes a more convenient device.

[0027]

As described above, the ophthalmic image processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention electrically masks unnecessary areas of an ophthalmic image to remove noise data and maintain good image quality of the effective portion. be able to.

In the ophthalmic image processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, by converting the peripheral region other than the fundus image into a pattern image, the fundus image can be photographed without using a mask, and the optical path length can be shortened. The configuration can be simplified, can be applied to a three-panel television camera, and the memory can be effectively used.

In the ophthalmic image processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the size of the mask is changed according to the magnification at the time of photographing and the diopter of the subject by converting the area corresponding to the photographing magnification or the focused state into a pattern image. The height can be changed, and a wide range can be observed and recorded even when the image is enlarged and observed or photographed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a fundus image before mask image synthesis.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a fundus image after combining mask images.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an enlarged moving image observation image.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an enlarged fundus image before combining mask images.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an enlarged fundus image after combining mask images.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Light Source for Observation Alignment 4 Light Source for Still Image Shooting 10 Perforated Mirror 11 Focus Lens 12 Photographic Lens 14 Still Image Shooting Camera 15 Video Viewing Camera 16 Character Generating Means 17 Video Viewing Monitor 19 Control Means 20 Still Image Playing Monitor 21 external storage means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An ophthalmic image processing apparatus, wherein an unnecessary area in the obtained ophthalmic image is electrically masked. 2. An ophthalmic image comprising: an image pickup means for converting the picked-up image into an electric signal; and a converting means for converting a peripheral region including the outside of the fundus image region picked up by the image pickup means into a pattern image. Processing equipment. 3. A photographing optical system for photographing a fundus image, an image pickup means for converting an image picked up through the photographing optical system into an electric signal, and a photographing magnification of the photographing optical system for an image picked up by the image pickup means. Or an ophthalmologic image processing device, comprising: a conversion unit that converts a region corresponding to a focused state into a pattern image.