KR101635735B1 - Blood vessel visualization apparatus and method for visualizing blood vessel in or adjacent to nose - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a blood vessel visualization apparatus and method for displaying blood vessels located in or around a nose to a user as an image.
A blood vessel visualization device for visualizing a blood vessel around a nose of a subject according to the present invention comprises a light emitting portion for emitting a light beam for visualization of a blood vessel inserted into a nose of a subject and a light beam emitted through the nose of the subject, And a light receiving unit for displaying a blood vessel visualized image in which the blood vessel position of the subject is displayed based on the light beam detected and sensed from the outside.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a blood vessel visualization apparatus and method for visualizing a blood vessel in a nose or its periphery,

The present invention relates to a blood vessel visualization apparatus and method for visualizing blood vessels in a nose or its periphery, and more particularly, to a blood vessel visualization apparatus and method for displaying blood vessels located in or around a nose to a user as an image.

As people's interest in cosmetics increases, the practice of applying beauty filler injections to subjects is increasing in general medical institutions. Cosmetic filler injections are used to remove wrinkles and skin marks in dermatology and plastic surgery. The procedure is very simple and does not interfere with everyday life, so the demand is explosively increasing.

Cosmetic filler injections use the principle of injecting the actual constituent substances of the skin such as hyaluronic acid into the skin under the skin to fill the area. Especially, the treatment is mainly performed around the nose of the face. However, in the vicinity of the nose, there are main blood vessels that are connected to the eye such as the angular artery. In the case where the filler injection needle is erroneously infiltrated into these main blood vessels, the blood vessels and eyes are damaged, There is a problem that causes the subject to reach blindness seriously.

This problem occurs because the operator does not know the position of the main blood vessel. Therefore, if the practitioner can perform the beauty filler injection while visually observing the main blood vessels around the nose, the aforementioned risks can be greatly reduced. However, the conventional blood vessel visualization devices are expensive equipments using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or are devices that must be used in close contact with a flat skin surface, so that it is difficult to effectively visualize blood vessels in a body part having a bending like nose .

U.S. Patent Publication No. 8,199,189 (June 12, 2012) U.S. Patent Publication No. 7,841,751 (Nov. 30, 2010)

"Iatrogenic Retinal Artery Occlusion Caused by Cosmetic Facial Filler Injections", published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, Vol. 154, No. 4, pp. 653-662,

An object of the present invention is to provide a blood vessel visualization apparatus and method for visualizing blood vessels in the nose or the periphery of the nose, have.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for visualizing blood vessels of a nose or its surroundings that can be implemented with a relatively simple structure and low cost.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for visualizing blood vessels optimized for visualizing blood vessels in or around the nose.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a blood vessel visualizing apparatus for visualizing a blood vessel around a nose of a subject can be provided with a light emitting unit inserted into the nose of the subject and emitting a light beam for visualizing the blood vessel. And a light receiving unit for detecting a light ray emitted from the nose of the subject and passing through the nose of the subject and displaying a blood vessel visualized image in which the position of the subject is displayed based on the sensed light ray.

In an embodiment, the light emitted from the light emitting unit may be near-infrared light having a wavelength of 800 to 850 nm, which can visualize hemoglobin.

In an embodiment, the light emitting portion may include a longitudinally extending insertion portion inserted into the nose of the subject, And a luminescent illumination attached to a portion of the insert to emit the light.

In an embodiment, the light-receiving unit may include a sensing unit that senses a light ray emitted through the nose of the subject and photographs the blood vessel image of the subject, And a display unit for processing the photographed image so that blood vessels of the subject can be more clearly displayed on the photographed image to generate or display the blood vessel visualized image.

In an embodiment, the sensing unit may further photograph a visible light image of the subject displayed by a visible light, and the display unit may generate or display the blood vessel visualized image by combining the blood vessel image and the visible light image.

As an embodiment, the apparatus may further include a support portion for supporting the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion, and the support portion may include a control switch for controlling operation of the power source of the blood vessel visualization device, the operation of the light emitting portion, or the operation of the light receiving portion.

In an embodiment, the light emitting portion, the light receiving portion, and the supporting portion may be configured as one handheld device.

In an embodiment, the light receiving portion may be configured in the form of glasses or goggles which can be worn by a person.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a method for visualizing a blood vessel of a blood vessel visualization apparatus includes the steps of: inserting a light emission portion into a nose of a subject; After the insertion, emitting a light beam for visualizing the blood vessel of the subject from the light emitting unit; Sensing a light beam emitted from the subject and passing through the nose of the subject, outside the nose of the subject; And displaying a blood vessel visualized image in which the blood vessel position of the subject is displayed based on the sensed light ray.

In an embodiment, the light ray emitted from the light emitting portion is near-infrared light having a wavelength of 800 to 850 nm which can visualize hemoglobin.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, the operator can perform the operation while visually confirming the position of the displayed blood vessel when performing the operation on the nose or its periphery. Therefore, the erroneous infiltration of the main blood vessel during the procedure is reduced, and thus the physician's safety can be achieved.

Further, since a blood vessel visualization apparatus and method that can be implemented with a simpler structure and a lower cost can be provided, medical institutions can provide such apparatuses at a lower cost, and as a result, the blood vessel visualization apparatus can be more easily disseminated.

In addition, it becomes possible to effectively visualize blood vessels even in a bodily and non-flat body part such as the nose or its periphery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the principle of a blood vessel visualization apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
2 is a front view and a rear view showing a specific configuration of a blood vessel visualization apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a view showing a specific use example of a blood vessel visualization apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a side view showing a configuration of a blood vessel visualization apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of visualizing blood vessels of a blood vessel visualization apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention.

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. Embodiments of the detailed description are provided for those of ordinary skill in the art to disclose the detailed description for carrying out the invention described herein.

Each of the embodiments of the present invention can describe different cases, but it does not mean that the embodiments are mutually exclusive. For example, the specific shapes, structures, and characteristics described in connection with one embodiment of the detailed description may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is also to be understood that the location or arrangement of the individual components of the embodiments disclosed herein may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

On the other hand, in various embodiments, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar components. In the accompanying drawings, the sizes of the respective components may be exaggerated for explanatory purposes and need not be equal to or similar to the actual applied size.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the principle of a blood vessel visualization apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. Referring to FIG. 1, a blood vessel visualizing apparatus according to the present invention is configured such that when a light emitting unit 110 emits a light beam toward a body tissue 1 from inside a nose of a subject, And then visually displays the blood vessel by visualizing it to the user.

The light emitting portion 110 is inserted into the nose of a person to be examined (person) and emits a light beam that is incident on the nose or its surrounding body tissue 1. The light emitted by the light emitting unit 110 may be selected to have a suitable wavelength depending on the type of blood vessel to be visualized by the blood vessel visualization apparatus.

In an embodiment, the light emitted by the light emitting unit 110 may be a near-infrared ray having a wavelength of 800 to 850 nm, which is suitable for visualizing oxygenated hemoglobin contained in blood flowing in arterial blood vessels around the nose.

As an embodiment, the light emitting portion 110 may be configured in a form (for example, in the form of an elongated rod) that is easily inserted into the nose of the subject through the nostrils.

When the light emitted from the light emitting portion 110 is incident on the body tissue 1 of the subject, the position of the blood vessel of the body tissue 1 can be detected from the outside. For example, the light beam passes through the body tissue 1 without any large damping in the portion where the blood vessel is not positioned, but in the portion where the blood vessel 2 (for example, arterial blood vessel) in the body tissue 1 is located, So that it is not released to the outside or only a part is released. On the basis of the difference in the amount of light rays emitted from such a light source, the blood vessel 2 in the body tissue 1 of the subject is relatively dark and the other portions are relatively bright.

The light receiving unit 120 includes a sensing unit 121 for photographing the transmitted light from the outside of the subject and a display unit 122 for displaying the photographed image as a visible image to the user.

The sensing unit 121 may include one or more cameras for capturing a body tissue image. The display unit 122 may include an image processing unit for displaying the blood vessel part of the image captured by the sensing unit 121 more clearly or for combining with another image.

More detailed embodiments of the configuration of the light emitting portion 110, the light receiving portion 120, and the blood vessel visualizing device including the light emitting portion 110 and the light receiving portion 120 will be described later with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG.

2 is a front view and a rear view showing a specific configuration of a blood vessel visualization apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 (a) shows a front view of the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100, and FIG. 2 (b) shows a rear view of the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100. FIG. 2, the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 includes a light receiving unit 123 including a light emitting unit including a light emitting illumination 111 and an insertion unit 112, a sensing unit 121 and a display unit 122, And includes a support portion 132 including a switch 133 and a connection portion 131.

The light emitting portion (for example, 110 of FIG. 1) includes a light 111 and an insertion portion 112, which are inserted into the nose of the subject.

As shown in FIG. 2, the insertion portion 112 may be formed in an elongated shape to facilitate insertion into the nostril of the subject. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the shape of the insertion portion 112 may be variously changed to the extent that the illumination 111 can be inserted into the nostril of the subject.

The luminescent illumination 111 is attached to a portion of the insertion portion 112 to emit a light beam for visualizing the blood vessel of the subject. As an example, the luminescent illumination 111 may be attached to the end of the insert 112 to facilitate further insertion into the nostril of the subject. The light emitted by the luminescent light 111 passes through the body tissue (for example, the nose skin) of the subject and is then strong enough to detect the position of the blood vessel of the subject from the outside of the transmitted light, .

In an embodiment, the light emitted by the luminescent light 111 may be near-infrared light having a wavelength of 800 to 850 nm, which is suitable for visualizing the hemoglobin of the oxidized hemoglobin contained in the blood flowing through the arterial blood vessel.

The light receiving unit 123 is located outside the body of the subject and includes a sensing unit 121 and a display unit 122.

The sensing unit 121 may be a module for sensing or photographing a light beam transmitted through the skin of a client, and may include a camera suitable for photographing a light beam emitted by the illumination light 111. As an embodiment, the sensing unit 121 may include an infrared camera capable of photographing near-infrared rays in a wavelength region of 800 to 850 nm outside the nose of the subject.

Meanwhile, the sensing unit 121 may include a plurality of cameras for capturing light beams of different wavelengths. For example, the sensing unit 121 may further include a visible ray camera for photographing light in a visible ray region, together with an infrared camera for photographing near-infrared rays. Alternatively, the sensing unit 121 may include a camera capable of capturing both the near-infrared ray and the visible ray as one module.

The display unit 122 processes the image captured by the sensing unit 121 and displays the blood vessel visualized image to the user. The display unit 122 may include an image processing unit for performing image processing methods well known in the art so that the blood vessels of the image captured by the sensing unit 121 are displayed more clearly and a screen for displaying the processed image have.

As an embodiment, when the sensing unit 121 photographs a visible ray image together with a near-infrared ray image, the image processing unit of the display unit 122 may perform an image processing method of synthesizing or integrating the near-infrared ray image and the visible ray image into one image .

 The supporting part 132 is a part for supporting the blood vessel visualization device 100 and fixes the insertion part 112 and the light receiving part 123 through the connecting part 131. [ As an embodiment, the support portion 132 includes a control switch 133 for controlling power supply control and driving of the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100. [ For example, the control switch 133 may be a power switch for turning on / off the power supply of the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100, a display switch for turning on / off the display of the blood vessel visualization image, / OFF "

The connection part 131 is a module for connecting and fixing the insertion part 112 and the light receiving part 123 to the support part 132. [ The connection portion 131 may include a rotation member that allows the insertion portion 112 and the light receiving portion 123 to rotate with respect to the support portion 132.

The light receiving unit 123 including the light emitting unit including the light emitting illumination 111 and the insertion unit 112 described above and the sensing unit 121 and the display unit 122 and the support unit including the control switch 133 132 and the connecting portion 131 may be configured as one handheld device. At this time, the user grasps the support part 132 by hand, inserts the illumination light 111 and the insertion part 112 into the nose of the client and emits light, thereby visualizing the nose blood vessel image of the client.

According to the configuration of the present invention as described above, the practitioner can perform the operation while visually confirming the position of the blood vessel displayed when the nurse's nose or its surroundings are operated. Therefore, the erroneous infiltration of the main blood vessel during the procedure is reduced, and thus the physician's safety can be achieved.

Since the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 can be realized with a very simple structure, it is possible to manufacture the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 at a lower cost than the conventional methods, and furthermore, the blood vessels are displayed by the light emitted from the inside of the user's body, So that blood vessels can be effectively visualized even on body parts that are curved and not flat, such as the nose or the periphery thereof.

The blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 according to the present invention can be used particularly in the beauty filler injection procedure and the operator can scan the filler while confirming the position of the artery of the patient in the filler procedure, You can help.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a specific use example of a blood vessel visualization apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the insertion portion 112 of the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 is inserted into the nose of the subject 10. The illumination illuminator 111 of the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 is also attached to the end of the insertion section 112 so as to be in contact with the subject 10 in a state of being attached to the end of the insertion section 112. [ As shown in FIG.

When the light emitting illumination 111 emits light (for example, the near-infrared rays described above) in the inserted state, the emitted light is incident on the nose tissue of the subject 10, and in this state, The sensing unit 121 senses a ray of light transmitted through the nose of the subject 10 to photograph the blood vessel image of the subject 10. The blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 images the photographed image so as to more clearly display the blood vessel of the subject 10 and then displays the image of the nose of the subject 10 on the display unit 122 as shown in FIG. And displays a blood vessel visualization image of the blood vessel.

The practitioner can visually observe the visualized blood vessel image displayed on the display unit 122 and precisely pierce the syringe 20 at a required site so that it is possible to prevent the patient from erroneously inflating the blood vessel of the patient.

On the other hand, as described above, the display unit 122 synthesizes the image displayed by the light rays emitted from the inside of the nose with the image displayed by the visible light (for example, , Overlaying the blood vessel image displayed by the near-infrared ray) to generate and display a more realistic and intuitive blood vessel visualization image.

4 is a side view showing a configuration of a blood vessel visualization apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. The blood vessel visualization apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 4 is similar in construction and operation principle to the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. However, the blood vessel visualization apparatus 200 of FIG. 4 differs from the prior art in that the light receiving unit 220 is configured in the form of glasses that can be worn by the practitioner 30 directly.

Referring to FIG. 4, the blood vessel visualization apparatus 200 includes an illumination light 211, an insertion portion 212, and a light receiving portion 220. 4, the blood vessel visualization apparatus 200 may further include a support portion including a control switch and a connection portion connecting the insertion portion 212 and the light receiving portion 220 to the support portion 132 .

4, the operation principle of the blood vessel visualization apparatus 200 is the same as that of the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 described above. First, the practitioner 30 inserts the insertion portion 212 and the luminescent light 211 with the end thereof into the nose of the subject, and then emits the light beam from the luminescent light 211. The emitted light beam passes through the body tissue of the subject and displays the blood vessel portion. The light receiving portion 220 worn by the practitioner 30 images the blood vessel image of the subject's subject and then displays the captured image so that the blood vessel portion is more clearly displayed And displays it on the eyeglass type display worn by the practitioner 30.

As an embodiment, the light-receiving unit 220 may further photograph an image by visible light in addition to an image by a light beam (for example, near-infrared rays) transmitted through the body tissue, synthesize or integrate the photographed images, Can be generated and displayed.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of visualizing blood vessels of a blood vessel visualization apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, the blood vessel visualization method of the blood vessel visualization apparatus includes steps S110 to S140.

In step S110, the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 (see FIG. 2) emits a light beam from the light emitting portion inserted in the nose of the subject to the subject's body tissue. The light rays emitted by the light emitting portion can be selected to have a suitable wavelength depending on the type of blood vessel to be visualized by the blood vessel visualization apparatus.

In an embodiment, the light emitted by the light emitting unit may be a near infrared ray in a wavelength region of 800 to 850 nm, which is suitable for visualizing oxygenated hemoglobin contained in blood flowing in arterial blood vessels around the nose.

In step S120, the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 detects a light beam transmitted through the nasal body tissue of the subject. Specifically, when a light beam is emitted from the light emitting portion and is transmitted through the skin surface of the subject, a light beam transmitted through the skin surface of the light receiving portion (in particular, a sensing portion having a camera)

As an embodiment, the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 can further photograph an image by visible light in addition to the image by the light beam emitted from the light emitting portion.

In step S130, the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 generates a blood vessel visualization image by processing the photographed image so that the blood vessel portion of the subject is more clearly displayed.

As an embodiment, the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 further performs image processing for synthesizing a blood vessel image by a light ray emitted from a light emitting portion and an image displayed by visible light (for example, a person's nose The appearance image is superimposed on the blood vessel image displayed by the near-infrared ray), so that the blood vessel visualization image can be generated.

In step S140, the blood vessel visualization apparatus 100 displays the generated blood vessel visualization image to the operator through the display unit.

According to the blood vessel visualization method as described above, the practitioner can perform the procedure while visually confirming the position of the blood vessel displayed when the patient's nose or its periphery is operated. Therefore, the erroneous infiltration of the main blood vessel during the procedure is reduced, and thus the physician's safety can be achieved.

In addition, since the blood vessel visualization method can be implemented as a device having a very simple structure, it can be manufactured at a lower cost than the conventional methods, and blood vessels are displayed by the light emitted from the inside of the user's body, It is possible to effectively visualize blood vessels even for bodily and non-flat body parts, such as in or around the body.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.

In addition, although specific terms are used herein, they are used for the purpose of describing the present invention only and are not used to limit the scope of the present invention described in the claims or the claims. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, but should be determined as set forth in the appended claims.

110: light emitting unit 120: blood vessel visualization unit
1: body tissue 2: blood vessel
100, 200: blood vessel visualization device 111, 211: luminescent illumination
112, 212: inserting section 123, 220: light receiving section
121: sensing unit 122: display unit
131: connection part 132: support part
133: Control switch 10:
20: Syringe 30 for operation: Operator

Claims (10)

A blood vessel visualization apparatus for visualizing a blood vessel around a nose of a subject,
A light emitting unit inserted into the nose of the subject and emitting a light beam for visualizing the blood vessel; And
And a light receiving unit for sensing a light ray emitted from the nose of the subject and passing through the nose of the subject and displaying a blood vessel visualized image in which the position of the subject is displayed based on the sensed light ray,
Wherein the illuminating light of the light emitting unit and the sensing unit of the light receiving unit are positioned so as to face each other inside and outside the nose of the subject when the blood vessel around the nose of the subject is visualized.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the light ray emitted from the light emitting portion is near-infrared light having a wavelength of 800 to 850 nm which is capable of visualizing hemoglobin.
The method according to claim 1,
The light-
An insertion portion extending in a longitudinal direction inserted into the nose of the subject; And
And a luminescent illumination attached to a portion of the insert to emit the light beam.
The method according to claim 1,
The light-
A sensing unit that senses a ray emitted from the subject and transmitted through the nose of the subject and photographs the blood vessel image of the subject; And
And a display unit for processing the photographed image so that the blood vessel of the subject is more clearly displayed on the photographed image to generate or display the blood vessel visualized image.
5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the sensing unit further photographs the visible light image of the subject who is displayed by the visible light,
Wherein the display unit generates or displays the blood vessel visualized image by combining the blood vessel image and the visible light image.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a support portion for supporting the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion,
Wherein the support portion includes a control switch for controlling power supply of the blood vessel visualization device, operation of the light emitting portion, or operation of the light receiving portion.
The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the light emitting unit, the light receiving unit, and the supporting unit are configured as one handheld device.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the light receiving unit is configured in the form of glasses or goggles which can be worn by a person.
Inserting the light emitting portion into the nose of the subject;
After the insertion, emitting a light beam for visualizing the blood vessel of the subject from the light emitting unit;
Sensing a light beam emitted from the subject and passing through the nose of the subject, by the light receiving unit, outside the nose of the subject; And
And displaying the blood vessel visualized image in which the blood vessel position of the subject is displayed based on the light ray detected by the light receiving unit,
Wherein the illuminating light of the light emitting unit and the sensing unit of the light receiving unit are positioned so as to face each other inside and outside the nose of the subject when visualizing a blood vessel around the nose of the subject, .
10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the light emitted from the light emitting unit is near-infrared light having a wavelength of 800 to 850 nm which is capable of visualizing the hemoglobin of the hemoglobin.

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