KR101410739B1 - Transmitted light detection type measurement apparatus for skin autofluorescence - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fluorescence measuring apparatus capable of measuring autofluorescence of skin so as to perform evaluation of various diseases by measuring autofluorescence of skin.
To this end, in the measurement of skin fluorescence in the present invention, the light from the light source is efficiently integrated to irradiate the skin tissue with light having improved light intensity and uniformity of light, while minimizing mirror reflection on the skin tissue surface And to provide a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement device with improved light efficiency.
In addition, the present invention provides a transmitted fluorescence detection type skin fluorescence measurement device capable of easily correcting a measurement error of skin fluorescence due to scattering and absorption of light transmitted through the skin surface and light generated in the skin.
Therefore, in the present invention, a light source unit for irradiating excitation light; A photodetector part arranged to detect transmitted light and fluorescence signal with respect to the excitation light emitted from the light source part; And a pair of optical transmission parts configured to transmit the excitation light irradiated from the light source part to a measurement object and to transmit the transmitted light and the fluorescence signal to the optical detection part, wherein each of the light transmission parts includes a light source part or a light detection part And a contact surface connected to the light source so as to allow the light to enter the measurement object. The skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to claim 1,

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a skin fluorescence measuring apparatus,

The present invention relates to a fluorescence measuring apparatus capable of measuring autofluorescence of skin so as to evaluate various diseases by measuring skin self fluorescence from a substance accumulated in the skin.

In recent years, various facilities using light for diagnosis and treatment of diseases have been developed. In particular, devices for diagnosing various diseases using the fluorescence of skin exiting the skin by excitation light emitted from a light source have been developed and used have.

This fluorescence is that the excitation light is absorbed by the skin and then comes out of the skin again. Since it has the biometric information inside the skin, it can act as a biomarker for the disease and it can be used as a non-invasive method The physiological condition of the whole body can be grasped.

For example, Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs) are formed in the oxidation of body organ proteins as a result of the Maillard reaction. These reactions impair many protein functions. Oxidative stress is rapidly increased by acute illnesses such as smoking, high fat acid, or cardiac risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, as well as sepsis. As a result, an end glycation product (AGE) occurs. This final glycation end product (AGE) is slowly degraded and accumulated over the entire time. The increase in the final glycation end product (AGE) is associated with the progression of chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis and tends to accumulate in the body as the age increases over a person's lifetime.

In the case of persistent hyperglycemia, non-enzymatic protein glycation and glycoxidation reactions occur continuously, leading to the formation of Advanced Glycation End products (AGE), a complex of irreversible sugars and proteins. Accumulation of the final glycation end product (AGE) progresses significantly in people suffering from vascular disease such as diabetes, renal failure, cardiovascular disease. The final glycation products (AGE) products accumulate in various tissues, including the skin. The final glycation product (AGE) has the property of emitting autofluorescence (AF) in the blue spectral region (maximum near 440 nm) by excitation light irradiation in the ultraviolet region (maximum near 370 nm).

It is known that the final glycation end product (AGE) can act as a biomarker for a range of diseases and can be used to measure the autofluorescence of the skin by non-invasive methods, The damage can be assessed. Therefore, the final glycation end product (AGE) predicts long-term complications in age-related diseases. Specifically, the amount of autologous skin fluorescence increases in patients with diabetes and renal failure, and is associated with the progression of vascular complications and coronary heart disease (CHD). This accumulation of the final glycation end product (AGE) can be measured noninvasively by skin autologous fluorescence and can be used as a noninvasive clinical tool to assess the risk of long-term vascular complications in the environment associated with diabetes and the accumulation of final glycation end products (AGEs) useful.

As a method and an apparatus proposed for evaluating the final glycation end product (AGE) by skin autofluorescence (AF) measurement, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004-186363 (hereinafter referred to as Document 1) (AGE) is measured by measuring the final glycation end product (AGE).

In Document 1, the excitation light source is a black glass fluorescent lamp that emits light in the ultraviolet region in the wavelength range of 300-420 nm. Collecting and recording light is performed by an optical fiber spectrometer. To increase the measurement area, the end face of the optical fiber is placed at a distance (d: 5-9 mm) from the transparent window of the equipment. To reduce the influence of reflected light from the skin, Direction.

Specifically, in Document 1, the end surface of an optical fiber collecting light is arranged at a distance from the target portion so as to increase the light collecting area, and the target portion area measured in this case is about 0.4 cm 2.

However, in this case, there is a problem that the fluorescence signal collected is greatly reduced by increasing the measurement distance d to increase the area of the measurement target site. Therefore, in the case of the conventional document 1, there is a problem that the reliability of data detection is deteriorated due to the limit of the size of the measurable skin area. In particular, this accuracy problem is largely seen in areas of heterogeneous skin, such as skin spots, blood vessels, wounds, and the like.

On the other hand, U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2008-103373 (hereinafter referred to as Document 2) discloses a similar device for measuring the final glycation end product (AGE) for screening diabetic patients. The equipment of Document 2 is configured to perform fluorescence measurement on the haemocytic skin with an optical fiber spectroscope as in Document 1. However, unlike in Document 1, in Document 2, the optical fiber probes are formed in the form of bundles composed of several branch lines.

In the apparatus of Document 2, ultraviolet light and blue light emitted from the light emitting diodes are irradiated to the bottom of the subject through the optical fiber probe, and skin fluorescence and diffuse reflected light from the subject are collected through the probe. The collected light is wavelength dispersed in the spectroscope and detected by a linear array detector. Two of the branch lines of the fiber optic probe (illumination fibers, channel 1 and channel 2) illuminate the target site, and the third collection fibers transmit the light from the object to the multichannel spectroscope. The end surface of the tissue interface where the bundle of optical fiber probe wires is bonded is brought into contact with the skin part to be irradiated.

One of the fiber optic probe wires selects light from the white light LED for the reflected light spectrum measurement and another LED selects the appropriate LED among the LEDs that emits light within the blue light spectrum range from ultraviolet to the switching device to emit light do. Various wavelengths can be selected to select the optimal fluorescence excitation condition. The reflected light spectrum measurement is used to detect the self fluorescence caused by the influence of melanin and hemoglobin and correct the measurement result. Each optical fiber bundle in the optical fiber bundle is arranged in a predetermined order, and the optical fibers coming out from each of the three branch lines in the bundle of optical fiber bundles are arranged in the order of b = 0.5 mm in the form of a mosaic.

However, in Document 2, since the light is irradiated to the bottom of the subject through the optical fiber probe, the optical fiber probe includes the optical fiber probe as the light transmission medium, which causes inherent problems of the optical fiber probe. That is, the optical fiber has a problem in that transmission loss is generated for each specific wavelength depending on the characteristics of its own medium, and further optical design and optical system are required to make the light generated from the light source incident on the optical fiber total reflection condition.

In addition, since the devices of the above documents 1 and 2 commonly use an optical fiber in a light receiving part for receiving light, inherent problems of the optical fiber probe itself in the light receiving part coexist, and in these documents, an optical fiber spectrometer and a linear array detector It is disadvantageous in that the detection area occupied by the linear array detector of the autofluorescence signal wavelength of the final glycation product becomes relatively small. Therefore, the detected fluorescence signal is dispersed and the light intensity of the wavelength to be detected by the linear array detector becomes relatively small. Also, since the optical fiber probe and the optical fiber spectroscope are included, there is a problem that the facility can not be downsized.

On the other hand, in measuring skin fluorescence to diagnose a disease, in addition to a reflected light detection method for detecting reflected light and skin fluorescence in a region where light irradiated to the skin is reflected, transmitted light and transmitted light for light irradiated to the skin are measured It is possible to consider a transmitted light detection method for detecting skin fluorescence at the position.

In this transmission light detection method, in order to measure intrinsic fluorescence intensity generated from the skin, the target skin to be measured is transmitted through the irradiation light, and light should be detected from the opposite skin of the target skin.

In general, the target skin area that can be considered as the transmitted light detection method is as follows. First, in the case of the earlobes, the thickness of the earlobe is about 3 mm, and the loss of the transmitted light is large, and the influence of the light absorbing blood is very large. In the case of fingers, when measured between the fingernail and the skin opposite to the fingernail, it is greatly influenced by the fluorescence generated in the fingernail. On the other hand, when measuring the fluorescence between the direction perpendicular to the nail and the skin on the opposite side of the nail, the light path becomes longer and the loss rate becomes larger. On the other hand, the measurement of the skin between the fingers, especially the skin between the thumb and the index finger, has the following advantages. First, the loss of light is not as large as 1 mm in thickness, and second, the influence of blood is small. Third, the effect of skin pigment is small and it is convenient to measure at the end.

On the other hand, even if selective diagnosis using transmitted light for some body parts is performed, the fluorescence intensity generated from the skin is influenced not only by the fluorescent material contained in the skin but also by the scattering and light absorption properties of light generated in the skin do.

Therefore, since errors are caused by the measurement due to the scattering and the light absorption properties of light, it is necessary to correct such errors in order to accurately detect skin fluorescence due to fluorescence excitation. In particular, when diagnosing a disease such as diabetes from a skin fluorescence measurement, since the difference in the numerical value between the person having the disease and the person having the disease among the subject is not large enough to offset the error, A device capable of detecting the skin fluorescence signal more accurately is required even when the measurement is performed.

Therefore, in realizing the selective diagnostic apparatus using such a transmitted light detection method, the miniaturization and mobility of the apparatus must be determined, and efficiency of light irradiation and fluorescence detection in the apparatus is required.

In addition, in order to more accurately distinguish between a person having a disease and a person having no disease, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of light irradiation and fluorescence detection in order to perform accurate diagnosis at a selective diagnosis site, It is very important to reduce the measurement error due to the influence of the absorption properties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been conceived in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. In the present invention, in measuring skin fluorescence, light from a light source is efficiently accumulated to irradiate skin tissue, To thereby provide a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement device with improved optical efficiency.

In addition, the present invention provides a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement device in which light intensities and uniformity of light are uniformly integrated by uniformly integrating light irradiated from a light source to a measurement object.

In addition, in the present invention, the measurement error of the skin fluorescence due to scattering and absorption of the reflected light from the skin surface of the irradiation light and the light generated in the skin can be simply corrected, thereby accurately evaluating the diagnostic factors for various diseases, A skin fluorescence measurement device of transmitted light detection type

In addition, the present invention provides a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement device in which an optical system and a light source system can be simply configured so that such a diagnosis process can be easily performed.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a light source unit for emitting excitation light; A photodetector part arranged to detect transmitted light and fluorescence signal with respect to the excitation light emitted from the light source part; And a pair of optical transmission parts configured to transmit the excitation light irradiated from the light source part to a measurement object and to transmit the transmitted light and the fluorescence signal to the optical detection part, wherein each of the light transmission parts includes a light source part or a light detection part And a contact surface connected to the light source so as to allow the light to enter the measurement object. The skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to claim 1,

The light source unit may include a first light source that emits excitation light and a second light source that emits light having a wavelength different from that of the first light source, And a first photodetector and a second photodetector installed to detect the wavelength of the transmitted light.

The second light source irradiates the light of the wavelength range of skin fluorescence excited by the excitation light from the first light source.

A light source switching controller for controlling on / off of the first light source and the second light source; And a calculator for calculating the skin fluorescence signal corrected from the fluorescence signal and the transmitted light signal detected from the first and second photodetectors.

The pair of optical transmission units may be a first optical prism connected to the light source unit and a second optical prism connected to the optical detection unit.

Also, the first optical prism and the second optical prism are triangular prisms having a triangular vertical cross-sectional shape.

In addition, a first light source is provided on a mounting surface of the first optical prism, and a second light source is provided on a reflection surface of the first optical prism.

The first optical detector is mounted on the mounting surface of the second optical prism, and the second optical detector is mounted on the reflection surface of the second optical prism.

The pair of light transmitting units may be a first light pipe connected to the light source unit and a second light pipe connected to the light detecting unit.

The first light pipe and the second light pipe may have a tilted reflecting surface, and the mounting surface may have a tapered column shape having a larger area than the contact surface.

In addition, a first light source and a second light source are installed on a mounting surface of the first light pipe.

The first light detector and the second light detector are provided on the mounting surface of the second light pipe.

A dichroic prism for separating the wavelength of the light detected on the mounting surface side of the second light pipe into two bands is provided.

The first photodetector is provided to detect the reflected light from the dichroic prism and the second photodetector is provided to detect transmitted light from the dichroic prism. A measuring device is provided.

The first light pipe and the second light pipe are vertical light pipes extending perpendicularly to the contact surface with the measurement object.

The first light pipe and the second light pipe are horizontal light pipes extending horizontally to the contact surface with the measurement object.

In addition, the reflection surfaces of the first light pipe and the second light pipe are inclined reflection surfaces with a cross-sectional area narrower from the mounting surface to the contact surface side.

The mounting surface of the first light pipe and the second light pipe is formed to be inclined to the reflection surface of the first light pipe and the second light pipe.

In addition, the reflection surface of the first light pipe and the second light pipe may include a bent reflection surface inclined with respect to the contact surface.

Also, the reflection surfaces of the first light pipe and the second light pipe are mirror-coated.

A transfer unit for vertically moving the light transmission unit; And a thickness indicator for measuring a distance between the two light transmitting parts to indicate the thickness of the measurement object.

In addition, the mounting surface of the light transmitting portion may further include an optical connection portion to be in contact with an object to be measured.

In addition, the optical connection unit constitutes a connection layer composed of a liquid material or an elastic material between the light transmission unit and the measurement object.

The light source switching control unit controls switching of the first light source and the second light source so that the lighting state of the first light source and the second light source are temporally separated. do.

In addition, the switching control unit may continuously and repeatedly turn on and off the first light source and the second light source to detect the fluorescence signal and the transmitted light signal for the first light source and the transmitted light signal for the second light source, respectively And a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement device.

In addition, a measurement object and a standard specimen may be selectively positioned on an optical path of the first light source and the second light source.

Also, the first light source irradiates light having a wavelength of 370 nm ± 20 nm.

The second light source irradiates light having a wavelength of 440 nm ± 20 nm.

In addition, the light source switching control unit may control the first light source and the second light source to be turned off before the respective light sources are turned on.

In addition, when the light source switching control unit extinguishes both the first light source and the second light source, the first photodetector and the second photodetector measure a dark signal, the operation unit stores the measured dark signal, And the fluorescence signal and the transmitted light signal detected from the signal are compensated for.

Also, the light source switching control unit controls the first light source and the second light source to repeatedly turn on and off at a cycle of 10 to 100 Hz.

The apparatus further includes a photodetector switching control unit for controlling on / off of the first photodetector and the second photodetector.

An optical sensor including the first light source, the second light source, the first photodetector, and the second photodetector; And a main body including the calculation unit, which is configured to be electrically connectable to the optical sensor.

Also, the optical sensor may include a memory for storing the detected information.

Wherein the optical sensor is mounted with a movable standard specimen and the standard specimen is moved to be positioned in the insertion space when the measurement target is removed from the insertion space between the optical transmission portions. A fluorescence measurement device is provided.

The optical sensor performs measurement on the skin when the skin to be measured is located in the insertion space, and performs measurement on the standard specimen when the measurement object is removed and the standard specimen is located in the insertion space. Type skin fluorescence measurement device.

The optical sensor is configured to store measured results of skin and standard specimens to be measured, and to transmit detection information on the stored skin and standard specimen to the main body to calculate corrected skin fluorescence values in the arithmetic unit. And a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement device.

The main body further includes a display unit, and the display unit outputs the corrected skin fluorescence signal calculated by the calculation unit.

In addition, the operation unit calculates the skin fluorescence value corrected by the following formula: < EMI ID = 1.0 >

_{Formula: AF corr = K [I (} λ2, t1) / I 0 (λ2, t1)] / {[T (λ1)] ^k1 [T (? 2)]} ^k2

(Where, T (λ1) = I ( λ1, t1) / I 0 (λ1, t1): diffuse transmission coefficient at the excitation wavelength

T (λ2) = I (λ2 , t2) / I 0 (λ2, t2): spread transmission coefficient at the radiation wavelength

I (λ2, t1): Intrinsic fluorescence (skin fluorescence) signal value of skin tissue

I (λ1, t1): Transmitted light signal value of skin tissue at excitation wavelength

I (λ2, t2): Transmitted light signal value of skin tissue at the wavelength of emitted light

k1, k2: the exponential coefficient of the calibration function for the excitation and emission wavelengths

I ₀ (λ 2, t 1): Intrinsic fluorescence signal value in standard specimen

I ₀ (λ 1, t 1): the transmitted light signal value in the standard specimen at the excitation wavelength

I ₀ (λ 2, t 2): Transmitted light signal value at standard wavelength at the wavelength of emitted light)

As described above, the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measuring apparatus according to the present invention has the following effects.

First, in the present invention, it is possible to easily diagnose diabetic diseases by evaluating autofluorescence of the skin. Mass screening for identification of potential diabetic patients is possible, and risk of heart-vessel and related complications can be predicted.

Second, in the present invention, the light intensity and the light homogeneity with respect to the light emitted from the light source are improved, and more uniform light is irradiated to the measurement object.

Third, in the present invention, the light from the light source is efficiently accumulated to irradiate the skin tissue, and the mirror reflection on the surface of the skin tissue is minimized, thereby improving the light efficiency and miniaturizing the device.

Fourth, in the present invention, in measuring skin fluorescence, a method of measuring transmitted light is adopted to fundamentally eliminate the error generating factor due to mirror reflection on the surface of the skin, while the skin roughness, scar, The effect of internal factors such as external factors, pigmentation of skin and hemoglobin of blood is minimized, so that it is possible to diagnose an accurate disease through this.

Fifth, in the present invention, errors due to scattering and absorption of light generated in the skin can be easily corrected, and accurate measurement of skin fluorescence can be performed, thereby enabling accurate diagnosis of diseases.

Sixth, in the present invention, it is possible to manufacture a compact scanner type including a light source and a detection unit, one end of which can be grasped so as to measure skin fluorescence while being in contact with the skin. Through such a configuration, , It is possible to perform real-time diagnosis by a non-invasive method.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the principle of measurement of a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention, in which light input from a light source and light detected by a light detector are classified by time,
2 shows a schematic configuration of a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention,
3 schematically shows a preferred arrangement of a light source and a photodetector arrangement in a case where there is no space between the light source and the photodetector and the skin to be measured in the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention,
FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a preferred arrangement of a light source and a photodetector in a case where a space exists between a light source and a photodetector and a skin to be measured in a transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention,
5 shows an example in which a transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention includes an optical prism and an optical connection portion,
6 to 10 are views showing still another embodiment of a transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention, which includes a light pipe and an optical connection unit,
FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of a transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measuring apparatus according to the present invention, which includes a modified light pipe and an optical connection portion.

The present invention relates to a skin fluorescence measuring apparatus for irradiating excitation light to the skin for the purpose of diagnosis of diseases such as diabetes and detecting skin fluorescence generated thereby, It is an object of the present invention to provide a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement device capable of accurately measuring skin fluorescence as a parameter for disease diagnosis by improving the light detection efficiency of skin fluorescence detected through the skin and correcting the measurement error accurately .

For this purpose, in the present invention, the measurement object and the standard specimen to be actually diagnosed are sequentially measured, and the information obtained from the measurement object and the information obtained from the standard specimen are compared with each other in order to eliminate the individual deviation of the measurement object There is also provided a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement device capable of providing a calibrated skin fluorescence value by sequentially controlling on / off of a light source and a photodetector according to a predetermined condition required in the process.

Further, in the present invention, an optical prism or an optical pipe is provided between a light source and a photodetector and an object to be measured, and optical coupling and optical detection efficiency are improved by inserting an optical connection portion between the optical prism or the optical pipe and a skin portion to be measured A transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement device is provided.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measuring apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In order to measure the fluorescence emitted from the skin, it is necessary to consider factors affecting the fluorescence measured together with the selection of the skin subject. Fluorescence measured depends not only on the fluorescent material contained in the skin but also on the scattering and light absorption properties of the light generated in the skin. In particular, there is a need to correct the fluorescence values measured in consideration of the excitation wavelength to be excited to excite the fluorescent material and the light absorption and light scattering effect at the fluorescence wavelength generated in the fluorescent material. Therefore, the following empirical equations can be considered to reduce the influence of the optical components affecting the fluorescence intensity.

AF_corr = AF / (T_One ^k1 T₂ ^k2) - Formula (1)

Measured to obtain the corrected fluorescence intensity AFcorr where fluorescence intensity AF was divided by this diffusion transmitted light values T ₁ and T ₂ values of the transmitted light diffused radiation (emissioin) in the fluorescence wavelength band. The two diffuse transmission light values are adjusted by the orders k1 and k2 without order.

In the present invention, Equation (1) is used to obtain skin fluorescence values corrected by the transmitted light detection method, and specific values are introduced to actually obtain corrected fluorescence values through experiments.

I (λ2, t1): Intrinsic fluorescence (skin fluorescence) signal value of skin tissue

I (λ1, t1): Transmitted light signal value of skin tissue at excitation wavelength

I (λ2, t2): Transmitted light signal value of skin tissue at the wavelength of emitted light

k1, k2: the exponential coefficient of the calibration function for the excitation and emission wavelengths

The relationship of the corrected skin fluorescence value newly induced by the transmitted light detection method is as follows.

AF _tissue = [I (λ2, t1)] / [I (λ1, t1) ^k1I (λ2, t2) ^k2 ]; k1, k2 < 1: - (2)

Here, AF _tissue is a correction signal of the intrinsic fluorescence of the skin tissue.

The light measurements are repeated periodically at different time intervals t1 and t2, and the obtained measurement results are averaged to improve accuracy. Measurements are recorded in the form of time diagrams to track changes in a timely manner.

On the other hand, there is a need for calibrations for deviations that depend on the instrument and calibration measurements for comparison with the results obtained from different specimens. Therefore, in the present invention, the same measurement was performed by introducing a standard specimen together with the measurement of the skin tissue. In order to increase the measurement accuracy, the transmitted light signal values I ₀ (λ 1, t 1) and I ₀ (λ 2, t 2) of the standard specimen fluorescence intensity I ₀ (λ 2, t 1) .

The signal values generated during the measurement of the introduced standard specimen are indicated as follows, similar to the target skin tissue symbol.

I ₀ (λ 2, t 1): Intrinsic fluorescence signal value in standard specimen

I ₀ (λ 1, t 1): the transmitted light signal value in the standard specimen at the excitation wavelength

I ₀ (λ 2, t 2): Transmitted light signal value at standard wavelength at the wavelength of emitted light

The processing of the signal obtained from the standard specimen is also applied through the following equation (3) similarly to equation (2).

_{AF reference = [I 0 (λ2} , t1)] / [I 0 (λ1, t1) k1 I 0 (λ2, t2) k2] - Formula (3)

The results obtained by dividing the AF _tissue by the AF _reference are as follows. The normalized and finally corrected intrinsic fluorescence values are as follows.

AF _corr = K (AF _tissue / AF _reference )

_{AF corr = K [I (λ2} , t1) / I 0 (λ2, t1)] / {[I (λ1, t1) / I 0 (λ1, t1)] ^{k1 [I (λ2, t2)} / I 0 (λ2, t2)]} k2 - Equation (5)

(Where K is the ratio factor taking into consideration the characteristics of the standard specimen used).

Expression (5) can be simplified as follows.

_{AF corr = K [I (λ2} , t1) / I 0 (λ2, t1)] / {[T (λ1)] ^k1 [T (? 2)]} ^k2 - Equation (6)

T 1 (λ 1) = I (λ 1, t 1) / I ₀ (λ 1, t 1)

T (λ2) = I (λ2 , t2) / I 0 (λ2, t2): spread transmission coefficient at the radiation wavelength

Therefore, in the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention, the calibrated skin fluorescence value is calculated through the above calculation process.

In this regard, the principle proposed for measurement is described in detail in Fig.

FIG. 1 is a time chart illustrating the principle of the measurement of the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention, in which light input from a light source and light detected by a photodetector are represented by time. As shown in FIG. 1, In the detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus, the first condition for irradiating the light corresponding to the wavelength range of the excitation light (first wavelength,? ₁ ) as the input and the first condition for the wavelength range of the skin fluorescence (second wavelength,? ₂ ) The second condition for irradiating the light corresponding to the first condition is temporally separated and the measurements under the first condition and the second condition are continuously performed. The wavelength range of the irradiation light corresponding to the first condition and the second condition may be selectively configured according to the skin fluorescence to be detected. For example, considering the case of detecting skin fluorescence for AGE as a preferred embodiment of the present invention , Light having a first wavelength of 370 nm ± 20 nm can be used as the excitation light for fluorescence excitation under the first condition and a second wavelength having a wavelength of 440 nm ± 20 nm corresponding to the wavelength of the skin fluorescence for AGE under the second condition Light can be selectively used.

That is, by using an optical sensor including light sources emitting light of two different wavelengths and a photodetector detecting light of two different wavelengths, a skin tissue corresponding to an object to be measured in a diagnostic observation process, Or calibration is made by contacting the reference sample with the optical sensor.

Regarding the measurement process, FIG. 1 (a) shows a time diagram of operation showing that each light source for two different wavelengths is operating in a temporally separate manner. At this time, it is configured such that the light? (? 1, t1) emitted from the first light source as the excitation light source and the light? (? 2, t2) from the second light source as the standard light source of the other wavelength range are present in different and non- It is important to do.

On the other hand, FIG. 1 (b) shows an operation time diagram for two photodetectors. Two signals for excited skin fluorescence and transmitted light are generated at the same time interval in which the light? (? 1, t1) from the first light source is irradiated. That is, the two signals generated at the excitation wavelength are the transmitted light signal I (λ1, t1) and the excited fluorescence signal I (λ2, t1).

On the other hand, only a single signal is formed at the time when the light? (? 2, t2) by the second light source irradiates light. That is, in the signal generated by the second light source, only the transmitted light signal I (? 2, t2) is detected in the wavelength range of the irradiated light.

Therefore, in the transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention, as shown in Fig. 1, the light irradiation by the first light source and the light irradiation by the second light source are separated temporally, A signal detected from the photodetector is collected at each light irradiation, and then the calculated signal is calculated through the above equation to calculate the calibrated skin fluorescence value.

FIGS. 2 to 4 illustrate an embodiment of a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is implemented according to the above-described measurement principle.

2 to 4, the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention includes an optical sensor that irradiates excitation light to the skin and can detect skin fluorescence and the like, , And a main body for analyzing the information detected from the optical sensor and displaying the information.

However, if it is only one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention that the optical sensor and the main body are separately structured as described above, a separate sensor may be formed instead of a separate main body, if necessary. It can also be produced by connecting.

The transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention is configured to include a light source and a photodetector to irradiate light to an object to be measured and detect skin fluorescence or the like generated by the irradiated light.

Particularly, in the present invention, in order to correct the detected skin fluorescence value and provide an accurate skin fluorescence value, two light sources for irradiating light of different wavelengths and two light sources for transmitting light of different wavelengths and skin fluorescence And a plurality of photodetectors capable of detecting the photodetector.

Specifically, these two light sources is the excitation light wavelength (the first wavelength, λ ₁₎ first light source and the excitation wavelength (second wavelength, λ ₂₎ of skin fluorescence generated by the light, which emits light corresponding to the And a second light source for emitting the corresponding light, and the two photodetectors are installed at positions capable of detecting transmitted light for the first light source and the second light source.

These two photodetectors include a first photodetector for detecting the transmitted light (? ₁ ) for the excitation light from the first light source, a skin fluorescence (? ₂ ) generated by the excitation light, and a transmitted light and a second photodetector for detecting the second wavelength? ₂ .

Therefore, the two light sources and the photodetector are disposed at positions capable of simultaneously detecting the transmitted light and the skin fluorescence, and are preferably disposed at the ends of the optical sensor so as to form a space into which the measurement object or the standard specimen can be inserted. The photodetectors can be arranged to face each other.

In this case, the light source and the photodetector do not need to be disposed directly facing each other. When the light source and the photodetector are connected by optical signal transmission means such as a light guide, the distal end portion where light is irradiated and the distal end portion where light is detected are arranged to face each other It suffices.

Therefore, in the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention, a light guide is disposed between the insertion spaces in which the measurement object is located in the light source, and light can be transmitted from the light source to the skin or the standard specimen, . In addition, a light guide may be disposed between the insertion space and the photodetector so that transmitted light and skin fluorescence transmitted through the skin can also be transmitted to the photodetector through the light guide.

The optical sensor including the light source and the photodetector may be configured to transmit light and detect an optical signal to a measurement object, and the end of the optical sensor may be configured to contact the skin or the standard specimen to be measured.

The optical sensor may have a clamping configuration in which a first fixing part on a light source side to which light is irradiated from a light source and a second fixing part on a light detecting side to detect light face each other and form an insertion space therebetween.

Therefore, when the measurement object is positioned in the insertion space between the first fixing part and the second fixing part, which are in the form of a clamp, light irradiation and light detection are performed on the measurement object.

In the case where there is no object to be measured in the insertion space, the standard specimen can be inserted into the insertion space, and the inserted standard specimen is subjected to light irradiation and light detection. The standard specimen can be configured to be automatically inserted into the insertion space. In this case, when the measurement target is removed from the insertion space after light irradiation and photo detection are performed on the measurement target, the standard specimen is automatically inserted It is preferable to perform the light irradiation and the light detection on the standard specimen.

At this time, the standard specimen can be selected to have optical characteristics of fluorescence and diffusion transmission similar to the body tissue to be measured.

Meanwhile, the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention may include a light source switching control unit for controlling on / off of the first light source and the second light source, and more preferably, And a photodetector switching control section capable of controlling on / off of the second photodetector.

The light source switching control unit and the photodetector switching control unit perform switching control so that each light source and the photodetector can operate correctly according to detection conditions of emitted skin fluorescence and transmitted light in order to precisely calibrate and calculate the skin fluorescence value.

That is, the light source switching control section controls the on / off of the light source, that is, the light source is turned on or off according to the light irradiation condition in the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus. For example, ₁ ) is irradiated to the object to be measured, the second light source is extinguished and the first light source is turned on so that each light source is controlled to switch so that only the first light source irradiates the light of the first wavelength range, and the other wavelength bands of the radiation (λ ₂₎ gekkeum to be the second condition the light-off the first light source and, first, only from the second light source to occur is irradiated with light of a second wavelength the second light source is lit for irradiating the object to be measured, each light source Can be configured.

Similarly, the photodetector switching controller also controls on / off of the photodetector in accordance with each measurement condition, and turns on / off the power of the photodetector for detecting the light of the wavelength band to be detected under the current measurement condition .

In particular, in the case of constituting the photodetector switching control section, in the case of the first condition for irradiating the excitation light of the first wavelength band or the second condition for irradiating the radiation light of the second wavelength band, the optical signal for the second wavelength must be detected , And the second photodetector for detecting light for the second wavelength is preferably maintained in an ON state continuously.

During the entire measurement process including the first condition and the second condition, the switching control for the light source is sequentially performed for a predetermined time, and the switching cycle of each light source is controlled by the flow rate It is preferable that the switching control is performed at a high frequency of 10 to 100 Hz so that the change of the transmittance does not affect the measurement. In this process, all the light sources are turned off before the light irradiation and the light detection are performed, and then the level of the dark signal is evaluated to automatically compensate for light leaking from the outside.

In the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measuring apparatus according to the present invention, an optical filter may be optionally installed in front of the light source and the photodetector. The optical filter may be installed on the optical path of the light source so that only the light of a desired wavelength range can be irradiated through the light source, or may be installed in front of the optical detector so that only light of the wavelength band to be detected by the optical detector can enter into the optical detector. have.

Meanwhile, the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention may include a main body configured to be connectable to an optical sensor including two light sources and two photodetectors, And calculating the size of the skin fluorescence that has been corrected from the information obtained.

The main body may be configured to be connected to the optical sensor by wired / wireless connection so as to receive the information detected from the optical sensor. The calculation unit of the main body may perform an arithmetic operation as described above to calculate the corrected skin fluorescence value can do.

In addition, the main body may include a display unit for outputting information on the skin fluorescence signal, and the display unit may output the corrected skin fluorescence signal calculated by the operation unit to the outside.

Therefore, in the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measuring apparatus according to the present invention having such a configuration, when the measurement object is located in the insertion space of the optical sensor, the optical sensor performs the light irradiation and the light detection process on the measurement object, The standard specimen is inserted into the standard specimen and the light irradiation process and the light detection process performed on the standard specimen are performed in the same manner.

The measured information about the object to be measured and the standard specimen is transmitted to an operation unit of the main body, and the operation unit calculates the corrected skin fluorescence value for the actual measurement target using the information about the transmitted fluorescence signal and the transmitted light signal. The calculated result is displayed externally through the display unit formed on the main body.

The measurements are repeated at regular intervals, and all of the repeated measurement results are stored in the optical sensor through the memory, and the stored information is stored in the arithmetic unit to perform the arithmetic operation in which the correction is performed. At this time, the repeated measurement results may be calculated as an average value and used for the calculation, and preferably, the measurement results may be stored in the form of a time diagram in order to track changes in the measurement results.

2, the first light source 111 and the second light source 112 are measured by a common light guide in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, And a common photodetector light guide is arranged on the opposite side of the common light source light guide, and the first photodetector 121 and the second light And an optical sensor 100 configured to transmit transmitted light and skin fluorescence to a detector.

As shown in FIG. 2, light emitted from the first light source 111 and the second light source 112 enters the common light source light guide 117 through the lens. The light source may be an LED, a laser diode or other light sources that provide sufficient light brightness in the excitation and emission wavelength range. A light source filter 114 is provided between the first light source 111 and the common light source light guide 117 so as to suppress the second wavelength? 2 light generated from the second light source 112. The second light source 112 is not required to have a separate filter, and the second detection filter 125 is provided before the second optical detector 122. Accordingly, the wavelength range of the light emitted from the second light source 112 may be larger than the wavelength range passing through the second detection filter 125. For example, the white light LED may be used as the second light source 112.

Light generated from the first light source 111 and the second light source 112 enters the common light source optical guide 117 through the first dichroic mirror 113. At this time, The objective lenses 115 and 116 can be provided between the respective light sources. At this time, the first dichroic mirror 113 reflects the first wavelength? 1 light, which is the short wavelength light, and the second wavelength? 2, which is the long wavelength light, under the condition that the second wavelength? 2 is larger than the first wavelength? Light passes through. Conversely, the first dichroic mirror 113 may be configured to pass a short wavelength and reflect a long wavelength. In this case, the positions of the first light source 111 and the second light source 112 must be changed. The power of the first light source 111 and the second light source 112 may be supplied while being switched by a light source switching controller and preferably supplied through a relay switch in a driver module 134 as shown in FIG. The power supply to the first light source 111 and the second light source 112 proceeds alternately.

When the measurement object T is located in the insertion space of the optical sensor 100, the optical sensor 100 performs a light irradiation process and an optical detection process on the measurement target T, Then, the standard specimen R is automatically inserted, so that the light irradiation and light detection processes performed on the standard specimen R are performed in the same manner.

The measured information about the measurement object T and the standard specimen R is transmitted to the operation unit 210 of the main body 200. The operation unit 210 uses the information about the transmitted fluorescence signal and the transmitted light signal, The corrected skin fluorescence value for the measurement object is calculated. The calculated result is displayed outside through the display unit 220 formed on the main body 200.

2, the light entered through the common detection light guide 128 enters the first and second photodetectors 121 and 122 through the same optical system as the objective lenses 126 and 127 Goes. The role of distributing the light to the first photodetector 121 and the second photodetector 122 is performed by the second dichroic mirror 123. The second dichroic mirror 123 can be configured to reflect short-wavelength light as in the first dichroic mirror 113 and to transmit the long-wavelength light in the opposite direction. As in the case of changing the positions of the first light source 111 and the second light source 112 in the first dichroic mirror 113, the positions of the first light source 111 and the second light source 112 If the position is changed, the corresponding wavelength passing and reflection characteristics can be reversed. At this time, the objective lenses 126 and 127 have a function of effectively collecting light in the photodetector.

In addition, a filter may be provided in front of the photodetector. The first detection filter 124 installed in front of the first photodetector 121 is configured to pass the spectral component of the first wavelength? 1 and suppress the second wavelength? 2 spectral component. While the second detection filter 125 is configured to pass the second wavelength? 2 spectral component and suppress the first wavelength? 1 spectral component.

The transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention includes an electronic control module (ECM) 100 for controlling irradiation of light from a light source in the optical sensor 100, processing the detected optical signal, , 130).

The signals sent from the first photodetector 121 and the second photodetector 122 enter analog-to-digital converters 131 and 132 belonging to the electronic control module 130 and then transmitted to a data transfer module (DTM 133, and a bidirectional bus to the operation unit 210 of the main body. Here, the data transmission module 133 serves as a multiplexer by time division control transmission of a digital signal, and selects data. The synchronization function of the data transfer module and the relay switch is performed by a bidirectional bus from the main body.

The main body 200 controls the driver module 134 corresponding to the light source switching control unit and can control the access module of the standard specimen R through the measurement inserting unit. In addition, the main body calculates a corrected fluorescence value according to the above-described equation by performing statistical processing of signals, and can perform operations related to signal processing, control, and data input, and outputs a work result through the display unit 220 .

Meanwhile, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, light having a first wavelength of 370 nm ± 20 nm can be used as excitation light for fluorescence excitation for skin fluorescence detection for AGE, and as the synchrotron radiation, It is possible to use light having the second wavelength of 440 nm 20 nm corresponding thereto.

In this case, the first light source 111 may be a light emitting diode that emits light of a first wavelength range of 370 nm ± 20 nm, and the second light source 112 may emit light of a second wavelength range of 440 nm ± 20 nm Emitting diodes. The first photodetector 121 may be a photodiode for detecting light in a first wavelength band and the second photodetector 122 may be a photodiode for detecting light in a second wavelength band.

FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention, and is related to a structure in which a pair of optical guides are provided individually on the light source side and the optical detector side, respectively.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to FIG. 3 commonly includes a first light source, a second light source, a first photodetector, a second photodetector and an electronic control module, The individual light guides are connected to the respective light sources and the photodetector side instead of the common light guide to constitute the optical transmission.

3, the first light source light guide 314 and the second light source light guide 315 are connected to the first light source 311 and the second light source 312, respectively, and on the opposite side thereof, The light guide 325 and the second detection light guide 326 are connected to the first photodetector 321 and the second photodetector 322, respectively.

Accordingly, light is transmitted through each of the light guides for light irradiation and light detection. In this embodiment, a dichroic mirror for collecting or dispersing light is not necessary as in the example of FIG.

In the example of Fig. 3, light is not transmitted through an optical system such as a dichroic mirror, and the light guide can be directly connected to the light source or the photodetector, so that the structure like the objective lens for focusing the light is not required.

The data transmission module 333 includes a light source filter 313, first and second detection filters 323 and 324, analog-to-digital converters 331 and 332, an operation unit 410 and a display unit 420, And the main body 400 including the main body 400 are the same as those described with reference to FIG.

In another embodiment of the transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measuring apparatus according to the present invention, in FIG. 4, a light source and a photodetector constitute the most terminal of the optical sensor, For example.

Accordingly, in the embodiment of FIG. 4, the first light source 511 and the second light source 512 located on the same chip generate light of the first wavelength lambda 1 and the second wavelength lambda 2, respectively, If the light source 511 does not include the spectral component of the second wavelength lambda 2, a filter is not required.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the photodetector is composed of two sectors, and band filters for dividing the first wavelength lambda 1 and the second wavelength lambda 2 before the two sectors are located, so that the first photodetector 521 and the second And constitutes a photodetector 522. The electronic control module sequentially turns on and off the first light source 511 and the second light source 512 and also controls and synchronizes the optical detection signals received from the optical detector by the two channels in a time division manner.

Meanwhile, in the embodiment of FIG. 4, the light source side and the photodetector side end portions may be formed in a clip shape so that the measurement target can be fixed while being pressed while the light source and the photodetector are positioned corresponding to each other. have. In this case, the measurement object is inserted into the light source sensor of the clip type, and then the light irradiation process and the light detection process are performed on the measurement object, and the standard specimen is automatically inserted into the clip after the measurement object is removed. The same procedure as the light irradiation and the light detection process is performed on the standard specimen.

And then transmits information about the optical signal measured by the main body 600, which is fixed through the communication module, to the corresponding digital signal, and the calculator 610 of the main body uses the information about the transmitted fluorescence signal and the transmitted light signal Thereby calculating the corrected skin fluorescence value for the actual measurement target. The calculated result is displayed externally through the display unit 620 formed on the main body 600.

In the meantime, the present invention is characterized by including a light transmitting portion having a new structure such as an optical prism or a light pipe on the light path so as to improve light transmission and light detection efficiency.

The light transmission unit including the optical prism or the light pipe functions to concentrically and uniformly irradiate the narrow region of the skin region to be measured and collect the transmitted light toward the optical detection unit.

That is, in the optical transmission part included in the optical sensor according to the present invention, as a part of the introduced light is reflected inside, a structure that can transmit the light not irradiated to the area to be measured to the measurement area or the optical detection part side without being lost . Therefore, the light transmitting portion in the present invention has a structure including a mounting surface on which a light source or a photodetector is located and at least one reflection surface in addition to the mounting surface, so that light reflected from the inside can be reflected internally. In addition, the light transmitting portion in the present invention includes a contact surface in contact with the object to be measured in addition to the mounting surface and the reflection surface of light.

As described above, the light transmitting portion including the mounting surface, the reflecting surface and the contact surface of the light can be realized by the optical prism or the light pipe described in detail below, and an embodiment of the optical sensor including the same is shown in detail in Figs. have.

FIG. 5 shows a preferred embodiment of a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention, and shows an example using an optical prism.

First, since the LED light source, which is generally used as a general excitation light source, has a wide divergence angle and is irradiated with light, the light to be irradiated to the region to be measured is lost. As a result, The amount of light detected by the detector is also lost.

Since the detected skin fluorescence is significantly smaller than other excitation light or its reflected light, such a light loss is a factor that greatly decreases the accuracy of the measurement and the reliability of diagnosis even in a minute amount.

On the other hand, in order to prevent such light loss, the present invention proposes a transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement device including optical prisms 720 and 730 as optical transmission parts as shown in FIG.

In the present invention, the optical prism is used to condense the excitation light emitted from the light source unit, thereby improving the light homogeneity in the skin region to be measured. The transmitted light and fluorescence transmitted through the measurement target site are transmitted to the optical detecting unit side through another optical prism.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present embodiment, optical prisms 720 and 730 are provided on the light source side and the optical detection side, respectively. The optical prism adjacent to the light sources 711 and 712 is referred to as a first optical prism 720 and the optical prism adjacent to the optical detectors 741 and 742 is referred to as a second optical prism 720. [ And is called an optical prism 730.

The first optical prism 720 includes a mounting surface on which the light source is mounted with respect to the light source unit and a reflection surface for reflecting some light that is not transmitted to the measurement object side among the light incident through the mounting surface.

5, the optical prism surface provided with the first light source 711 is referred to as a mounting surface 721, and the optical prism surface adjacent to the mounting surface 721 And the optical prism surface capable of reflecting the light emitted from the first light source 711 is referred to as a reflective surface 722. [

5, the optical prism surface, which was the reflecting surface 722 with respect to the first light source 711, becomes the mounting surface 722 of the second light source 712, The mounting surface 721 for the first light source 711 becomes the reflecting surface 722. [

In the embodiment including a plurality of light sources, the mounting surface and the reflecting surface are relative to each other based on any one of the light sources. In the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measuring apparatus according to the present invention, And a reflecting surface. Therefore, according to the present invention, the light emitted from the light source is totally reflected in the interior and condensed to the skin side as much as possible, and the inhomogeneity of the light source through the condensed light, that is, , An improved optical homogeneity can be obtained.

At this time, a filter may be installed on the mounting surface (or the reflecting surface) of the optical prism to transmit only light of a specific wavelength band.

The first optical prism 720 further includes a contact surface 723 which touches or touches the measurement target T in addition to the mounting surface and the reflecting surface. The contact surface 723 is a surface to be connected to the measurement site in the first optical prism 720, and light is transmitted to the measurement site through the contact surface 723.

On the other hand, the light passing through the contact surface 723 of the first optical prism 720 generates fluorescence in the skin and is emitted to the photodetectors 741 and 742 together with the transmitted light. 5, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second optical prism 730 is further provided as another light transmitting portion for efficiently transmitting the transmitted light and fluorescence sent to the photodetectors 741 and 742 .

The second optical prism 730 includes a mounting surface 731 on which the photodetector is mounted with reference to the first optical detector 741, A reflecting surface 732 which is an optical prism surface capable of reflecting fluorescence, and a contact surface 733 which comes into contact with or approaches the measurement site.

That is, in the second optical prism 730 having the above-described configuration, the transmitted light and fluorescence transmitted through the skin portion, which is the measurement target T, enter the photodetector 741 or 742 through the internal reflection directly .

On the other hand, in the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present invention, transmitted light and fluorescence at the skin part, which is the measurement target (T), can be generated between the two media due to refraction and scattering of light at the interface with the skin part on the detector side And an optical connection unit 750 for preventing leakage light.

The optical connection unit 750 is configured to be positioned between the skin surface and the contact surface of the optical prism adjacent to the skin, which is the measurement target T, and the optical connection unit contacts the contact surface and the skin surface of the optical prism, respectively.

Preferably, the optical connection portion is formed on the contact surface of the second optical prism 730 and is configured to contact the contact surface and the skin surface, respectively, to form a connection layer for matching the refractive index at the boundary, . Therefore, the second light such as transmitted light or fluorescence emitted to the light detecting unit side is prevented from being mirror-reflected from the contact surface of the second optical prism 730, and is effectively guided to the light detecting unit side.

That is, the optical connection unit 750 adjusts the refractive index between the two media so as to prevent leakage light that may occur between the two media due to the refraction and scattering of the excitation light between the optical prism and the skin tissue, And it plays a role of filling uneven parts such as fine irregularities.

The optical connection part in the present invention may be composed of a liquid material such as water or an infusion oil or an elastic material, and is selected from a material similar to the optical prism and the refractive index of the skin.

The total internal reflection of the irradiation light does not occur in the prism at the boundary between the prism and the skin tissue through the optical connection portion and the efficiency of light emitted by the light source into the skin tissue is greatly improved.

Therefore, in the case of the transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measuring apparatus using such an optical prism and the optical connecting portion, it is possible to improve the degree of optical integration and the homogeneity of light, while greatly reducing the component of reflected light and fluorescent light reflected from the contact surface.

5, the two types of light sources 711 and 712 and two photodetectors 741 and 742 are used to control on / off of the two light sources, (Not shown) for calculating a skin fluorescence signal corrected from a fluorescence signal and a transmitted light signal detected from the two light detectors and a light source switching control section (not shown).

In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the first optical prism 720 and the second optical prism 730 are each composed of a triangular prism-shaped optical prism having a contact surface adjacent to the skin side and two mounting surfaces (or reflecting surfaces) can do.

Further, a light source and a photodetector are provided on the mounting surface of the optical prism. 5, two light sources 711 and 712 may be provided on the two mounting surfaces of the first optical prism 720 and two light sources 711 and 712 may be provided on the two mounting surfaces of the second optical prism 730. For example, Two photodetectors 741 and 742 may be respectively installed. At this time, on the mounting surface of the second optical prism 730, filters 761 and 762 for removing noise and passing only the wavelength band to be detected may be provided.

Structural portions such as the mounting position of the light source and the photodetector and the shape of the optical prism can be appropriately modified as needed. For example, a quadratic prism having a vertical cross-sectional shape of a trapezoid may be used as the optical prism, and the light source and the photodetector may be appropriately disposed on the mounting surface rather than the contact surface.

In the transmitted fluorescence detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus according to the present embodiment, as in the example described with reference to FIG. 2 and the like, A skin fluorescence value can be obtained.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show still another embodiment of the transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measuring apparatus according to the present invention. FIGS. 6 and 7 show an example using a light pipe as a light transmitting unit.

Referring to FIG. 6, in an embodiment using a light pipe, as a light transmitting unit that transmits light from the light source unit and secondary light of fluorescence transmitted through the skin to the optical detecting unit, two light pipes 820 , 830).

The light pipe in this embodiment is made of glass as in the case of the optical prism, and may be composed of a polygonal column or a cylinder having an inclined shape in which the side is gradually narrowed as shown in FIG. Each of the light pipes has a structure including two surfaces formed at both ends formed along the inclined side surface. A light source part or a light detecting part is positioned on a wide surface of the two surfaces, and a narrow surface is configured to contact the skin tissue to be measured do. Therefore, the light pipe in this embodiment is made in the form of a tapered column with inclined sides. In this case, the first light pipe 820 on the light source side and the second light pipe 830 on the light detection side are installed symmetrically with each other with the skin therebetween as shown in FIG.

The light pipe in this embodiment is connected to the mounting surfaces 821 and 831 on which the light sources 811 and 812 or the optical detectors 841 and 842 are mounted and the mounting surfaces 821 and 831, A reflecting surface 822 and a reflecting surface 832 which are inclined surfaces extending in a direction in which the skin tissue is positioned and contact surfaces 823 and 833 connected to the reflecting surfaces 822 and 832 and contacting the skin tissue.

In the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus having such a light pipe, the light emitted from the light source portion is reflected along the inclined reflection surfaces 822 and 832 to be moved toward the measurement target T, And enters the skin tissue through the contact surfaces 823 and 833.

Therefore, in this embodiment, since the light pipe having the shape in which the cross-sectional area is reduced from the mounting surface to the contact surface with respect to the light source is used, the light energy density irradiated by concentrating the light emitted from the light source into the contact area with the skin can be increased have.

Therefore, even in the case of an LED light source having a wide divergence angle, such a light pipe can be condensed into a narrow region, and even if the light pipe has a plurality of light sources having different optical axes, , It is possible to match the optical axis of light irradiated to the skin.

Further, according to this embodiment using the light pipe, the accuracy of detection is improved because the optical axis for the light source portion can be aligned with the optical axis of the photodetector.

Further, in this embodiment, since light is reflected and transmitted through the inclined reflection surface, it is possible to irradiate uniform light to a wider range as the numerical aperture (NA) The generation of the secondary light can be increased.

On the other hand, a second light pipe 830 is provided on the side opposite to the first light pipe 820 on the side of the light source unit, and transmitted light and fluorescence passing through the second light pipe 830 are detected by a light detecting unit provided on the mounting surface of the second light pipe 830 . That is, the transmitted light and fluorescence of the light transmitted to the skin along the reflection surface of the first light pipe 820 are emitted to the opposite skin, and the light is transmitted to the optical detecting unit side along the second light pipe 830.

The optical signals detected by the optical detection unit are transmitted to a main body 860 including an operation unit. In the main body 860, as described above, the information about the transmitted fluorescence signal and the transmitted light signal is used to correct Thereby calculating the skin fluorescence value.

On the other hand, Fig. 7 shows an example in which a dichroic prism is provided on the photodetector side as a modified example of the transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement device according to Fig.

7, a dichroic prism 870 may be provided in the vicinity of the mounting surface of the second light pipe 830 before the light reaches the light detecting unit. The dichroic prism 870 separates the secondary light generated in the skin tissue into two wavelength bands (? ₁ ,? ₂ ).

Light separated into two wavelengths is detected through the photodetectors 841 and 842. In order that the light reflected or transmitted through the dichroic prism 870 can be accurately detected, And may be installed on different sides of the light pipe. Thus, the numerical aperture of the reduced light as compared to when it is introduced into the skin tissue can be improved by the two photodetectors 841 and 842 provided on two different surfaces in this way.

Also, as described above, the first light pipe 820 and the second light pipe 830 can reduce the measurement error by matching the optical axes despite the spatial inconsistency between the light source unit and the light detection unit.

In this embodiment, as in the embodiment including the optical prism, an optical connection part 850 may be provided between the skin part to be measured T and the contact surface of the first light pipe 820 . The optical connection unit 850 can be installed not only in the first light pipe 820 but also in the second light pipe 830. The matters relating to the optical connection unit 850 are as described above.

Figs. 8 to 10 show an optical sensor, which is an essential embodiment of the transmitted-light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus fabricated as shown in Fig. 6, as a main constituent. In the above manufacturing example, an optical sensor including a light source, a photodetector, and two light pipes is provided. The light pipe includes a transfer part for transferring the light pipe up and down in the measurement of transmission fluorescence, and a transfer part for transferring the thickness of the skin changing as the light pipe is lifted by the transfer part Thickness indicator that informs you. In addition, such an optical sensor is configured to be connected to a main body for controlling a light source and a photodetector and collecting measurement data.

8, a space for inserting the measurement object T is formed between the first light pipe 820 and the second light pipe 830. As shown in FIG. 9, Two light sources 811 and 812 for emitting light are provided.

The specific measurement process by the transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement apparatus including the above-described configuration is as follows.

The fluorescence sensor 800 is inserted into the gutter blood, which is the skin region to be measured, and the first light pipe 820 is lowered, and then the light is irradiated from the light source.

In this case, it is shown in FIG. 10 that the mixed light is irradiated from the two light sources passing through the first light pipe 820, and the distribution characteristics of the mixed light can be confirmed through the enlarged view on the right side in particular. In other words, it can be confirmed that the mixed light has a homogeneous distribution and is focused toward the measurement target T in view of the distribution characteristics of such light.

The light focused on the area to be measured is detected by the photodetector through the second light pipe 830 through the skin and through the fluorescence excitation.

At this time, in order to improve the reliability of the measurement, work of keeping the thickness of the skin part to be measured constant is proceeded. To this end, the present invention includes a transfer part (not shown) for transferring the first light pipe to press the skin part of the measurement target T. The apparatus may further include a thickness indicator (not shown) for measuring the skin thickness in a state where the first and second light pipes are conveyed by the conveyance unit to press the skin portion.

Therefore, in the measurement process, the transfer part conveys the first light pipe 820 to press the skin part, and then measures the distance between the first light pipe 820 and the second light pipe 830 conveyed through the thickness indicator Thereby confirming the thickness of the measurement target T, and stopping the conveyance of the conveyance unit when it is pressurized by a predetermined thickness.

Through this process, the thickness of the object to be measured can be kept constant, and a certain repetitive reproducibility can be obtained.

On the other hand, Fig. 11 shows another modified embodiment of the present invention, which includes a modified light pipe.

6 is an example of a vertical light pipe extending in a direction perpendicular to the contact surface with the measurement object, Fig. 11 is an embodiment of a horizontal light pipe extending in a direction substantially parallel to the measurement object.

11 includes a light source and a photodetector, and includes a horizontal light pipe as an optical transmission unit for transmitting light from a light source unit including a light source to a light detection unit including a light detector. This horizontal light pipe is composed of two first and second light pipes 920 and 930 which are in contact with the upper side and the lower side of the measurement target T. Each of the light pipes includes light sources 911 and 912 or a light detector 941 932, 932 for reflecting the transmitted light and fluorescence transmitted through the light or skin irradiated from the light source and the fluorescence reflected from the mounting surface 921, 931, And contact surfaces 923 and 933.

The first light pipe 920 in this embodiment is provided on the mounting surface 921 of the light source section so as to effectively introduce uniform light into the contact surface 923 with the measurement target T positioned substantially parallel to the reflection surface 922 921 are formed obliquely on the reflecting surface 922. The irradiation light from the light source portion provided on the mounting surface 921 is reflected along the reflection surface 922 and is introduced to the measurement target T side through the contact surface 923. [ Similarly, the mounting surface 931 on the side of the light detecting portion may also be formed inclined to the reflecting surface 932 of the second light pipe.

The first light pipe 920 and the second light pipe 930 may be configured to include the bent reflection surfaces 924 and 934 inclined with respect to the contact surface as shown in FIG. 11 on the contact surfaces 923 and 933, The light can be effectively introduced into the measurement target side, and the transmitted light and fluorescence can be effectively transmitted to the photodetector side.

The light pipe in this embodiment performs a mirror coating on the reflective surface through a separate deposition process so that light reflection occurs on the reflective surface of the side, and the contact surface of the light pipe has a mirror coating Do not perform. Thus, light irradiation and secondary light collection are achieved through the non-mirror coated contact surfaces. In addition, the mounting surface on which the light source unit and the light detecting unit are disposed is also not mirror-coated.

Optical coupling parts 950 can be inserted between the contact surfaces 923 and 933 of the light pipe and the measurement object T and the light transmission efficiency can be improved through the optical coupling part 950. [ Can be improved. Further, the conveying unit and the thickness indicator for pressing the measurement object and maintaining the thickness thereof may be included as in the example of Fig.

Therefore, in the embodiment using the horizontal type light pipe as shown in Fig. 11, the optical sensor can be simply configured in the form of a clip, thereby facilitating the measurement.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. There will be. In addition, many modifications may be made to the particular situation or material within the scope of the invention, without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, but includes all embodiments within the scope of the appended claims.

100: optical sensor 200:
111: first light source 112: second light source
113: first dichroic mirror 114: light source filter
115, 116: objective lens 117: common light source light guide
121: first optical detector 122: second optical detector
123: second dichroic mirror 124: first detection filter
125: second detection filter 126, 127: objective lens
128: Common detection light guide 130: Electronic control module
131, 132: analog-to-digital converter 133: data transmission module
134: Driver module 210: Operation unit
220:
300: optical sensor 400:
311: first light source 312: second light source
313: Light source filter 314: First light source light guide
315: first light source optical guide 321: first optical detector
322: second photodetector 323: first detection filter
324: second detection filter 325: first detection light guide
326: second detection light guide 330: electronic control module
331, 332: Analog-to-digital converter 333: Data transfer module
334: Driver module 410: Operation unit
420:
511: first light source 512: second light source
521: first photodetector 522: second photodetector
530: Electronic control module 531, 532: Analog-to-digital converter
533: Data transfer module 534: Driver module
600: main body 610:
620:
711: first light source 712: second light source
720: first optical prism 730: second optical prism
741: first photodetector 742: second photodetector
750: optical connection part 761, 762: filter
811: first light source 812: second light source
820: first light pipe 830: second light pipe
841: first photodetector 842: second photodetector
850: Optical connection part 860:
870: Dichroic Prism
911: first light source 912: second light source
920: first light pipe 930: second light pipe
941: first photodetector 942: second photodetector
90: Optical connection
T: Measurement object (skin) R: Standard specimen

Claims (39)

A first light source for emitting excitation light;
A second light source for emitting light having a wavelength different from that of the first light source;
A first photodetector for detecting light in a transmitted light wavelength band with respect to the excitation light irradiated from the first light source;
A second photodetector for detecting light of the fluorescence wavelength band by the excitation light;
A first light transmitting portion arranged to transmit light irradiated from the first light source and the second light source to a measurement object, and a second light transmitting portion passing through the first light transmitting portion, And a second optical transmission portion configured to transmit a signal to the first and second photodetectors,
Each of the light transmitting portions includes a mounting surface on which the light source or the photodetector is mounted, a reflection surface extending from the mounting surface to the measurement object side to reflect the light, and a contact surface connected to receive light to be measured Transmitted light detection type skin fluorescence measurement device.
delete The method according to claim 1,
And the second light source irradiates the light of the wavelength range of the skin fluorescence excited by the excitation light from the first light source.
The method according to claim 1,
A light source switching controller for controlling the blinking of the first light source and the second light source;
An operation unit for calculating a skin fluorescence signal corrected from the fluorescence signal and the transmitted light signal detected from the first photodetector and the second photodetector;
And a skin fluorescence measuring device for measuring the transmitted light.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the pair of optical transmission parts comprises: a first optical prism connected to the first light source and the second light source; And a second optical prism connected to the first photodetector and the second photodetector.
The method of claim 5,
Wherein the first optical prism and the second optical prism are triangular prisms having a triangular vertical cross-sectional shape.

The method of claim 6,
Wherein a first light source is provided on a mounting surface of the first optical prism and a second light source is provided on a reflection surface of the first optical prism.
The method of claim 7,
Wherein a first photodetector is provided on a mounting surface of the second optical prism and a second photodetector is provided on a reflection surface of the second optical prism.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the pair of light transmitting portions are a first light pipe connected to the first light source and the second light source and a second light pipe connected to the first light detector and the second light detector. Measuring device.
The method of claim 9,
Wherein the first light pipe and the second light pipe have a tilted reflecting surface, and the mounting surface is in the form of a tapered column having a wider area than the contact surface.
The method of claim 9,
Wherein a first light source and a second light source are provided on a mounting surface of the first light pipe.
The method of claim 9,
And a first photodetector and a second photodetector are provided on the mounting surface of the second light pipe.
The method of claim 9,
And a dichroic prism for separating the wavelength of light detected to the mounting surface side of the second light pipe into two bands.
14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the first photodetector is provided to detect reflected light from the dichroic prism and the second photodetector is provided to detect transmitted light from the dichroic prism. .
The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14,
Wherein the first light pipe and the second light pipe are vertical light pipes extending perpendicularly to the contact surface with the measurement object.

The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14,
Wherein the first light pipe and the second light pipe are horizontal light pipes extending horizontally with the contact surface with the measurement object.
18. The method of claim 16,
Wherein the reflection surfaces of the first light pipe and the second light pipe are tilted reflective surfaces with a narrow cross-sectional area from the mounting surface to the contact surface side.
18. The method of claim 16,
Wherein the mounting surface of the first light pipe and the second light pipe is formed to be inclined to the reflection surface thereof.
18. The method of claim 16,
Wherein the reflection surfaces of the first light pipe and the second light pipe include a bent reflection surface that is inclined with respect to the contact surface.
18. The method of claim 16,
Wherein the reflection surfaces of the first light pipe and the second light pipe are mirror-coated.
The method according to claim 1,
A transfer unit for vertically moving either one of the first and second light transmitting units or both the first and second light transmitting units;
Further comprising a thickness indicator for measuring the distance between the two light transmission parts to indicate the thickness of the measurement object.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the optical transmission unit further comprises an optical connection part for contacting the measurement object on the mounting surface of the light transmission part.
23. The method of claim 22,
Wherein the optical connection part constitutes a connection layer made of a liquid material or an elastic material between the light transmission part and the measurement object.
The method of claim 4,
Wherein the light source switching control unit controls switching of the first light source and the second light source so that the lighting state of the first light source and the second light source are temporally separated.
27. The method of claim 24,
The light source switching control unit sequentially detects the first light source and the second light source so as to sequentially detect the fluorescence signal and the transmitted light signal for the first light source and the transmitted light signal for the second light source, Wherein the skin fluorescence measurement device comprises:
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the measurement object and the standard specimen are selectively positioned on the optical path of the first light source and the second light source.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first light source irradiates light having a wavelength of 370 nm ± 20 nm.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the second light source irradiates light having a wavelength of 440 nm ± 20 nm.
The method of claim 4,
Wherein the light source switching control unit controls both the first light source and the second light source to be turned off before the respective light sources are turned on.
29. The method of claim 29,
Wherein when the light source switching control unit extinguishes both the first light source and the second light source, the first photodetector and the second photodetector measure a dark signal, the operation unit stores the measured dark signal, And compensates for the detected fluorescence signal and the transmitted light signal.
The method of claim 4,
Wherein the light source switching control unit controls the first light source and the second light source to repeatedly turn on and off at a cycle of 10 to 100 Hz.
The method of claim 4,
And a photodetector switching control unit for controlling the flicker of the first photodetector and the second photodetector.
The method of claim 4,
An optical sensor including the first light source, the second light source, the first photodetector, and the second photodetector;
And a body including the calculating unit, the body being configured to be electrically connected to the optical sensor.
34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein the optical sensor includes a memory for storing the detected information.
34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein the optical sensor is mounted with a movable standard specimen and the standard specimen is moved to be positioned in the insertion space when the measurement object is removed from the insertion space between the light transmission portions Device.
36. The method of claim 35,
Wherein the optical sensor performs measurement on the skin when the skin to be measured is located in the insertion space and performs measurement on the standard specimen when the measurement object is removed and the standard specimen is located in the insertion space, Fluorescence measuring device.
37. The method of claim 36,
Wherein the optical sensor is configured to store measured results of skin and standard specimens to be measured and to transmit detected information about the stored skin and standard specimen to the main body to calculate the corrected skin fluorescence value in the arithmetic unit, Detection type skin fluorescence measurement device.
34. The method of claim 33,
Wherein the main body further comprises a display unit, and the display unit outputs the corrected skin fluorescence signal calculated by the calculation unit.
The method of claim 4,
Wherein the calculation unit calculates the skin fluorescence value corrected by the following equation.
_{Formula: AF corr = K [I (} λ2, t1) / I 0 (λ2, t1)] / {[T (λ1)] ^k1 [T (? 2)]} ^k2
(Where, T (λ1) = I ( λ1, t1) / I 0 (λ1, t1): diffuse transmission coefficient at the excitation wavelength
T (λ2) = I (λ2 , t2) / I 0 (λ2, t2): spread transmission coefficient at the radiation wavelength
I (λ2, t1): Intrinsic fluorescence (skin fluorescence) signal value of skin tissue
I (λ1, t1): Transmitted light signal value of skin tissue at excitation wavelength
I (λ2, t2): Transmitted light signal value of skin tissue at the wavelength of emitted light
k1, k2: the exponential coefficient of the calibration function for the excitation and emission wavelengths
I ₀ (λ 2, t 1): Intrinsic fluorescence signal value in standard specimen
I ₀ (λ 1, t 1): the transmitted light signal value in the standard specimen at the excitation wavelength
I ₀ (λ 2, t 2): Transmitted light signal value at standard wavelength at the wavelength of emitted light)

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