JPS60119919A - Opthalmic examination apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ophthalmological testing device used primarily for testing and diagnosing the cornea, crystalline lens, etc. of the eye.

A corneal endothelial cell observation device is conventionally known as this type of device, but its main purpose is simply to examine the morphology of endothelial cells, and it is used to qualitatively or quantitatively detect abnormalities in diseased areas inside the cornea. Not suitable for analysis. Other inspection instruments such as slit lamps are also known, but these are only used to visually observe abnormalities on a cut surface of the cornea.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ophthalmological examination device capable of qualitatively, quantitatively, and precisely diagnosing a diseased area inside the cornea, and the gist thereof is to provide an ophthalmological examination device that has an optical means that transmits intermittent light into the eyeball. The present invention is an ophthalmological testing device characterized by having a contact lens equipped with means for detecting an elastic wave as a response signal.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, this invention is demonstrated in detail based on the Example of illustration.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, in which a transparent piezoelectric element 5 is provided on the inner surface of a contact lens 4 that is brought into contact with a cornea 2 of an eye 1 to be examined, and light is intermittently transmitted into the eyeball. A so-called distributed index lens (trade name: SELFOC) 6 is placed at the center of the contact lens 4 as an optical means for sending out the light, and a light source 8 is connected to the distributed index lens 6 via an optical fiber 7.

That is, the input light emitted from the light source 8 is intermittently projected into the eyeball l, and the piezoelectric element 5 electrically detects an elastic wave as a response signal due to the so-called photoacoustic effect. 2 shows the signal waveform A from the piezoelectric element 5. FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment in which the cornea 2 is scanned two-dimensionally, and in this case, a plurality of distributed index lenses 6 are distributed two-dimensionally on the contact lens 4. , the terminal portions 7a of the optical fibers 7 connected to the distributed index lenses 6 are arranged in a circular ring as shown in FIG. Further, near the terminal portion 7a, a rotary plate 9 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is provided as a means for sequentially projecting light onto the plurality of distributed index lenses 6 at different times. A small hole 10 having a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the optical fiber 7 is bored in the rotating plate 9 . Therefore, by rotating this rotary plate 9 and sequentially projecting the light from the light source 8 through the small hole 10 onto only one or a portion of the distributed index lens 6, the cornea 2 can be scanned two-dimensionally. becomes possible. Note that the input light B from the light source 8
The wavelength is chopped at a constant period as shown in FIG. 5, and the wavelength can also be varied by incorporating a monochromator. Note that the intermittent light may be obtained by operating the light source 8 not continuously but intermittently.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment having almost the same configuration as the embodiment shown in FIG. , crystalline lens 3
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In addition, the iris, angle, and other parts of the eye 1 other than the cornea 2 and crystalline lens 3 can also be irradiated with light for similar measurements. In the present invention, a so-called bar lens having a uniform refractive index may be used instead of the distributed index lens.

Now, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a case was explained in which the contact lens was equipped with a distributed index lens) and a piezoelectric element.
The contact lens may include a piezoelectric element, and the gradient index lens may be separated from the contact lens. However, when a contact lens is equipped with a distributed index lens and a piezoelectric element, the effect is that mutual alignment becomes unnecessary because they are integrated. Note that in order to provide a distributed index lens in a contact lens, it may be placed close to the contact lens, or may be built into the contact lens.

As explained above, the ophthalmological examination apparatus according to the present invention is convenient for use with a piezoelectric element in contact because fixation of the eye to be examined, aiming at the observation and measurement site, and positioning are facilitated by the contact lens.

In addition, since photoacoustic spectroscopy is possible, precise spectroscopic measurements can be performed on the cornea, crystalline lens, and other areas that are normally difficult to inspect and diagnose due to significant light scattering, without being affected by scattered light. This makes it possible to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze all diseased parts within the eye to be examined, which greatly facilitates ophthalmological examination and diagnosis.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the ophthalmological examination device according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a signal waveform diagram, and FIG. 3 is a configuration of another embodiment. 4 is a front view of the arrangement of the optical fiber terminals in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the light source, FIG. 6 is a front view of the rotating plate, and FIG. It is a block diagram of another Example. Symbol l is the eye to be examined, 2 is the cornea, 3 is the crystalline lens, 4 is the contact lens, 5 is the piezoelectric element, 6 is the gradient index lens, 7
is an optical fiber, 8 is a light source, 9 is a rotating plate, and 10 is a small hole. Patent applicant Canon Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ophthalmological examination device having an optical means for sending intermittent light into the eyeball, characterized by having a contact lens equipped with a means for detecting an elastic wave as a response signal. An ophthalmological examination device. 2. The ophthalmological examination device according to claim 1, wherein the contact lens also includes the optical means. 3. The ophthalmological examination device according to claim 1, wherein the means for detecting the elastic waves is a transparent piezoelectric element. 4. The ophthalmological examination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a distributed index lens is used as the optical means. 5. The ophthalmological examination apparatus according to claim 1, which uses a plurality of distributed index lenses arranged two-dimensionally in the optical means. 8. The ophthalmological examination apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising means for sequentially projecting light onto the two-dimensionally arranged distributed index lenses at different times. 7. The ophthalmological examination device according to claim 1, wherein the light sent into the eyeball is variable wavelength light.