KR101986831B1 - Probe for observing meibomian gland and meibomian gland observation apparatus comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a probe for observing my spring spring easily and effectively and a micro spring observing apparatus having the probe for observing my spring spring. The probe can be connected at one end to a light source, and has a flexible cable case, And a reflecting member connected to the other end of the cable case and capable of changing a traveling path of light transmitted through the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers, Provided is an observation probe and a my spring observing apparatus having the same.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a probe for observing a my spring, and a probe for observing a meibomian gland,

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a microsomal observation probe and a microsomal observation device having the probe. More particularly, the present invention relates to a microsomal observation probe capable of easily and effectively observing myalgia, ≪ / RTI >

Dry eye syndrome is one of the most common ophthalmic diseases, which is caused by lack of tears, excessive evaporation of the tears, damage to the ocular surface, or irritation, irritation, or stiffness. These dry eye syndrome is largely divided into two types of tear secretion type and over evaporation type. In the past, ocular dryness was considered to be more important than tear secretion. However, recently, excessive dry eye syndrome is reported to account for about 70% of all dry eye syndromes.

The most important cause of dry eye syndrome is meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). My spring is the sebaceous glands in the upper and lower eyelids, which secrete oil myrrh into the eyeball surface to form the lipid layer of the tear film, which prevents the aqueous layer of the tear film from evaporating. MYSPOMERAL DYSFUNCTION MYSPOMERAL FUNCTION AFFECTED MY SPRAY, EFFECT OF MYBAR SPRAY OR DEFICIENT MYMALBUR, THERE ARE OCCURRED BY EXTREMELY VARIABLE OCCLUSION OF THE TISSUE FLAT . Therefore, understanding the pathogenesis of myalgia dysfunction and developing therapies for it is crucial to developing fundamental therapies for dry eye syndrome.

However, in the past, there has been a problem in that there is no equipment that can easily and effectively observe such my spring spring.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a probe for observing my spring spring easily and effectively and a device for observing my spring spring having the same. However, these problems are exemplary and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical cable connector comprising: a flexible cable case which can be connected at one end to a light source; a plurality of optical fibers housed in the cable case such that one end thereof corresponds to one end of the cable case; And a reflecting member connected to the plurality of optical fibers and capable of changing a traveling path of light transmitted through the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers.

The reflective member may include a prism. The prism may include a first surface on which the light transmitted through the plurality of optical fibers is incident, a second surface reflecting the light incident through the first surface in the prism, And a third surface for emitting the emitted light to the outside of the prism.

Furthermore, the second surface and the third surface may be connected by a non-sharp surface.

Meanwhile, the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers may be arranged in a straight line. In particular, the lengths of the optical paths from the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers to the second surface may be the same.

One ends of the plurality of optical fibers may be disposed such that one end of one optical fiber is positioned at the center of the optical fiber and one ends of the remaining optical fibers surround one end of the one optical fiber.

The optical fiber may further include a light diffusion plate interposed between the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers and the reflective member.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light source device, comprising: a light source; and any one of the above-mentioned mi- croscope-viewing probes whose ends are connected to the light source, and a target to be irradiated with light transmitted through the mi- A lens unit which is located above the support and can observe an object on the support, and an imaging unit which is located above the support and is capable of acquiring image data of the object on the support, Device is provided.

Other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, claims, and drawings.

According to an embodiment of the present invention as described above, it is possible to implement a microsomal observation probe and a microsomal observation device having the probe for observing myosseal leakage easily and effectively. Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited by these effects.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a part of a probe for observing my spring spasm according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing the observation of the myo spring by using the probe for observing the myo spring in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a photograph showing My spring spring observed by using the probe for observing the myo spring in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a conceptual view schematically showing the observation of myo spring by using a probe for observing my spring in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a conceptual view schematically showing the observation of myo spring by using a probe for observing the myo spring in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing the shape of an eyelid when using two types of forceps.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing a forceps usable with a probe for observing a myaloscope according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing a micro-spring observing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention is capable of various modifications and various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. The effects and features of the present invention and methods of achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, but may be implemented in various forms.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like or corresponding components throughout the drawings, and a duplicate description thereof will be omitted .

In the following embodiments, when various components such as layers, films, regions, plates, and the like are referred to as being " on " other components, . Also, for convenience of explanation, the components may be exaggerated or reduced in size. For example, the size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown for convenience of explanation, and thus the present invention is not necessarily limited to those shown in the drawings.

In the following embodiments, the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis are not limited to three axes on the orthogonal coordinate system, and can be interpreted in a broad sense including the three axes. For example, the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis may be orthogonal to each other, but may refer to different directions that are not orthogonal to each other.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a part of a probe 100 for observing the myomas according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the microspot observing probe 100 according to the present embodiment includes a cable case 110, a plurality of optical fibers 130, and a reflecting member 140.

The cable case 110 can be connected to a light source (not shown) at one end and is flexible. In FIG. 1, both ends of the cable case 110 are shown, and one end of the cable case 110 positioned in the -y direction may be connected to the light source. Of course, in order to easily connect to the light source, a structure having a thread or the like may be formed on the inside of one end of the cable case 110, or a connection part having a structure such as a screw thread may be coupled to one end of the cable case 110 have. The cable case 110 may include a polymer resin, and in some cases, the thin metal fibers may include a structure in which the fibers are woven in the manner of a fabric or the like.

A plurality of optical fibers (130) are accommodated in the cable case (110). One end of each of the plurality of optical fibers 130 corresponds to one end of the cable case 110 and the other end of each of the plurality of optical fibers 130 corresponds to the other end of the cable case 110, . When the light emitted from the light source is incident on one ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130, the plurality of optical fibers 130 are directed to the light source, and the light is transmitted to the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130, And light may be emitted from the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130. For reference, a light source capable of emitting light including a visible light having various wavelengths can be used as a wide spectrum light source.

Since the light source emitting light toward one end of the plurality of optical fibers 130 may be shaped like a point light source, one ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130 may be formed as one One end of the optical fiber 131 may be positioned and one end of the remaining optical fibers 132 may be disposed so as to surround one end of the optical fiber 131. In this case, if the center of the light source is disposed so as to correspond to one end of one optical fiber 131, light from the light source efficiently enters one end of the other optical fiber 132 surrounding the one optical fiber 130 . For this, as shown in FIG. 1, at one end of the cable case 110, there may be an inner case 120 located inside the cable case 110 and surrounding the plurality of optical fibers 130. In this case, the space between the cable case 110 and the inner case 120 may be filled with an insulating material or the like.

Meanwhile, the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130 may be arranged in a straight line as shown in FIG. 1, the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130 are arranged on a straight line along the y-axis. This is because, as described later, it is effective to use a linear light source extending along one axis in order to observe my spring spring. 1 shows that the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130 are not surrounded by the inner case 120. This is for convenience of illustration only, and a plurality of optical fibers 130 And the other ends may be surrounded by the inner case 120. Alternatively, the inner case 120 may surround one ends of the optical fibers 130 and extend along the cable case 110, but do not extend to the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130, May not be surrounded by the inner case 120. In the latter case, insulating material may be filled between the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130 and the cable case 110.

The reflective member 140 is directly or indirectly connected to the other end of the cable case 110 to change the path of light transmitted through the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130. The reflective member 140 may be directly connected to the other end of the cable case 110 or may indirectly be connected to the other end of the cable case 110 by other components.

The reflective member 140 may include a prism as shown in FIG. The reflective member 140 has a first surface 141, a second surface 142, and a third surface 143. The first surface 141 is a surface on which light transmitted through the plurality of optical fibers 130 is incident. The second surface 142 is a surface that reflects the light incident through the first surface 141 in the prism. For this, the second surface 142 may be coated with a reflective material such as metal. The third surface 143 is a surface that emits the light reflected from the second surface 142 to the outside of the prism. 1, the light emitted from the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130 and traveling in the + x direction passes through the first surface 141 and enters the prism, 142, and is then directed to the -x direction, and then is emitted to the outside of the prism through the third surface 143.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual view schematically showing the observation of the myo spring by using the probe 100 for observing the myo-spring in FIG. As shown in Fig. 2, the eyelid EL covering the eyeball EB is lifted using a forceps FC, and light is directed toward the eyelid EL using the myaloscope observation probe 100. My spring is the sebaceous glands in the upper and lower eyelids (EL). Specifically, the sebaceous glands of the tear film are secreted from the surface of the eyeball (EB) . Therefore, it is necessary to lift the eyelid (EL) from the eye (EB) in order to observe such myalgia.

A part of the eyelid EL is lifted from the eye EB using a forceps FC and then the eyelid EL is positioned on the prism which is the reflecting member 140 of the myaloscope observation probe 100. At this time, let the outer surface of the eyelid (EL) not the eyeball (EB) side be located on the third surface (143) of the prism. When the light from the light source is transmitted to the reflecting member 140 through the plurality of optical fibers 130 in such a state, the light emitted through the third surface 143 of the prism, which is the reflecting member 140, And is irradiated to the eyelids EL located on the surface 143. [ That is, the prism serving as the reflecting member 140 serves to support the eyelid EL located at the eyeball to be observed, while at the same time, the light path for illuminating the eyelid (EL) And to change it.

FIG. 3 is an image obtained by irradiating the eyelids EL with light using the microsomal observation probe 100 as described above. That is, the image of FIG. 3 is a photograph of a surface of the eyelid EL in the direction toward the eyeball (EB). In FIG. 3, a part of the forceps FC of FIG. 2 is seen, and it can be confirmed that the my spring (MG) appears in a shape like a grape cluster on the eyelid. That is, it can be seen that a part of the light emitted from the myaloscope observation probe 100 passes through the eyelid EL and the my spring MG is observed as a shadow.

On the other hand, the eyelid has a generally long left-right shape, and FIG. 3 shows that the eyelid has a long shape along the y-axis. As a result, it can be seen that the shape of the grapevine extending in the x axis direction is also arranged in parallel along the y axis direction. Therefore, it is necessary to uniformly irradiate the light source along the y-axis direction in order to effectively observe the my spring currents arranged in parallel along the y-axis direction.

To this end, the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130 may be arranged in a straight line as shown in Fig. 1, the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130 are arranged on a straight line along the y-axis. In particular, by making the lengths of the optical paths from the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130 to the second surface 142 of the prism that is the reflecting member 140 the same, a linear light source extending in the y- It is possible to irradiate the subject's eyelids.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual view schematically showing the observation of the myo spring using the probe 100 for observing the myo spring according to another embodiment of the present invention. The microsomal observation probe 100 according to the present embodiment differs from the microsummus observation probe 100 according to the embodiments described above in the shape of a prism that is the reflection member 140. [ 4, the prism, which is the reflecting member 140 included in the myaloscope observation probe 100 according to the present embodiment, includes a second surface 142 as a reflecting surface for reflecting light in the prism, And a third surface 143 that emits light to the outside of the prism is connected by a non-pointed surface 144.

As described above, the prism, which is the reflecting member 140, functions to support the eyelid (EL) where the myalbumin is to be observed, and at the same time, It changes the path. Particularly, the prism as the reflecting member 140 is configured such that the eyelid EL is bent so that the portion of the eyelid EL to be observed is positioned on the third surface 143 of the prism. At this time, Is positioned between the second surface 142 and the third surface 143 of the prism,

If the boundary between the second surface 142 and the third surface 143 of the prism has a sharp-pointed shape, at least a part of the outer surface of the eyelid EL can be damaged thereby. However, in the case of the microsomal observation probe 100 according to the present embodiment, the second surface 142, which is a reflecting surface for reflecting light in the prism that is the reflecting member 140, and the third surface 142, The surface 143 is connected by a non-pointed curved surface 144. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively prevent the portion of the eyelid EL supported on the prism, which is the reflecting member 140, from being damaged to observe the my spring spring.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual view schematically showing the observation of the myo spring by using the probe 100 for observing the myo spring according to another embodiment of the present invention. The microsomal observation probe 100 according to the present embodiment differs from the microsummus observation probes 100 according to the above-described embodiments in that it further includes a light diffusion plate 150. The optical diffusing plate 150 is interposed between the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130 and the prism serving as the reflecting member 140. The light diffusing plate 150 diffuses the light emitted from the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130 to uniformly illuminate the eyelids EL.

If the optical diffuser 150 is not present, the light emitted to the eyelids EL is relatively strong at the points corresponding to the centers of the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130, The intensity of the light at the points corresponding to < RTI ID = 0.0 > As described above, a part of the light emitted from the microsomal observation probe 100 passes through the eyelid EL, and the my spring (MG) is observed as a shadow. Therefore, if the intensity of the light irradiated on the eyelid EL is not uniform, accurate observation of the myospasm MG may not be performed. Therefore, the optical diffusion plate 150 is interposed between the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 130 and the prism serving as the reflective member 140, thereby making it possible to accurately observe the my spring.

On the other hand, when observing the myospames using the above-described microsomal observation probe 100, a part of the eyelid EL is fixed to the third surface 143). At this time, depending on which forceps (FC) are used, it is possible to make an accurate my spring observations.

6 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing the shape of an eyelid when using two types of forceps. 6, only the portion of the eyelid EL supported by the forceps FC protrudes in the direction of the forceps FC, so that the eyelid EL is formed in a triangular shape as a whole The shape of the eyelid EL is deformed. As a result, the shape of the myalbumin (MG) present in the eyelid (EL) may also be deformed, and accurate observation may not be obtained. However, when the two mutually spaced eyelids EL are supported by the forceps FC using the forceps FC of the double teeth shape as shown in the right side of FIG. 6, It is possible to prevent the shape from being deformed into a triangular shape. This prevents the shape of the my spring (MG) from being deformed, so that accurate observation can be achieved. Fig. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing such forceps FC in the form of double teeth.

Although the microsummus observation probe 100 has been described so far, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the MySpace observation apparatus as shown in FIG. 8 is also within the scope of the present invention.

The micro-spring observing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a light source 200 capable of emitting a wide-band light, a light source 200 having one end connected to the light source 200, A support table SP on which a target TO to be irradiated with light transmitted through the myaloscope observation probe 100 can be placed and a support table SP disposed on the support table SP, An imaging unit 600 capable of acquiring image data of a target object TO on a supporter SP and positioned above the supporter SP; Respectively. The image sensing unit 600 recognizes the light as the visible light or the like transmitted through the microsomal observing probe 100 passes through the eyelid EL so that the myopic eye present in the eyelid EL MG) in the form of a shadow can be obtained.

Of course, an anesthetic supply source 400 capable of supplying an anesthetic such as isoflurane for anesthetizing a target (TO), and an anesthetic supply source 400 having one end connected to the supply source 400 and a discharge port An anesthetic agent delivery unit 300 connected to the mouth of a target object TO such as a mouse or the like to anesthetize the target object TO and a display unit 700 for displaying an image acquired by the imaging unit 600 Various variations that can be made are possible.

Conventionally, in order to observe Myo spring in the course of animal experiments, animals were sacrificed and the eyelids were incised and subjected to tissue staining. However, this method has the disadvantage that it is impossible to observe the change of my spring blood over time in living animals because animals must be sacrificed. That is, in order to see the response to the treatment, it is necessary to look at the difference between before and after treatment, and such conventional methods were not able to observe such difference before treatment and after treatment. In addition, there was a problem that the result of the biopsy could be completely different depending on the incision position of the eyelid. For example, if the incision line is selected along the center of the myom spring, the myomus is normal in the histological examination, but if the incision line is selected among the myomas, the myopathy appears to be almost absent from the histological examination. .

However, in the case of the myo-spring observing apparatus according to the present embodiment, it is possible to observe My-spring in real time in an anesthetized state without sacrificing the animal during an animal experiment or the like. In addition, the eyelid incision does not observe the Myo spring, but observes the Myo spring by using the light passing through the eyelid in real time. Therefore, the possibility of false observation can be drastically lowered.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art . Therefore, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

100: My spring observation probe 110: Cable case
120: inner case 130: optical fibers
140: reflective member 141: first side
142: second side 143: third side
150: light diffuser plate 200: light source
300: anesthetic delivery unit 400: anesthetic supply source
500: lens unit 600:
700:

Claims (9)

Flexible cable case, one end can be connected to the light source;
A plurality of optical fibers housed in the cable case such that one end thereof corresponds to one end of the cable case;
A reflecting member connected to the other end of the cable case and capable of changing a traveling path of light transmitted through the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers; And
A light diffusion plate interposed between the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers and the reflective member;
And,
Wherein the light emitted from the light source passes through the optical fibers, the optical diffusing plate, and the reflecting member,
My spring observing probe. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the reflecting member comprises a prism. 3. The method of claim 2,
The prism includes a first surface on which light transmitted through the plurality of optical fibers is incident, a second surface reflecting the light incident through the first surface in the prism, and a second surface reflecting the light reflected from the second surface. To the outside of the prism. The method of claim 3,
And the second surface and the third surface are connected by a non-pointed surface. The method of claim 3,
And the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers are arranged in a straight line. 6. The method of claim 5,
And the lengths of the optical paths from the other ends of the plurality of optical fibers to the second surface are the same. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein one ends of the plurality of optical fibers are disposed such that one end of one optical fiber is positioned at the center of the optical fiber and one ends of the remaining optical fibers surround one end of the one optical fiber. delete Light source;
The microsomal observation probe according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein one end is connected to the light source;
A supporter on which a target to be irradiated with light transmitted through the microsomal observation probe can be placed;
A lens unit positioned above the support and capable of observing an object on the support; And
An imaging unit located above the support and capable of acquiring image data of the object on the support;
And a microcomputer.

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