KR20220072297A - Fluorescence diagnostic device and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fluorescence diagnostic device and a control method therefor capable of visually confirming information on the existence and location of a tissue to be treated by observing a site to be treated by a diagnostician, and a method for controlling the same, and an LED that emits light in a specific wavelength region A probe including a module and an optical fiber emitting light in a wavelength region different from that of the LED module, a controller for controlling each part, and a light emitted from the LED module and optical fiber and reflected from the treatment target area to obtain visible and near-infrared light images It may consist of a light source obtaining unit to generate.

Description

Fluorescent diagnostic device and control method

The present invention relates to a fluorescence diagnosis apparatus and a control method therefor, which can provide diagnosis by visually confirming information on the existence and location of a tissue to be treated by observing a site to be treated by a diagnostician, and a method for controlling the same.

In general, an image guided surgery system is used to assist a surgeon in positioning a surgical instrument during an operation, and is easily used to establish a preoperative surgical plan.

In particular, in the case of neurosurgery such as cancer surgery, it is very difficult for a neurosurgeon to move a surgical tool while directly looking at a patient's surgical site.

In general, an image-guided surgical system images a computed tomography (CT) image or a magnetic resonance (MRI) image taken before surgery on a display device such as a monitor, obtains the location of a treatment metabolic site and a surgical tool corresponding to the image, and displays the image together. do.

Accordingly, the relative position of the surgical tool and the surgical site may be identified through the display device of the image-guided surgical system, and the operation may be performed without injuring a dangerous part of the patient's body.

In the case of surgery by such an image-guided surgical system, the direction of the scale of the image is different from what the doctor actually sees, so it is difficult to grasp the position of the surgical site during surgery. There is a problem with time delay.

In addition, most imaging techniques have limitations in the absence of tissue-specific fluorescent molecules and limitations in real-time imaging. Currently, only partial image guided surgery is performed through general optical imaging techniques.

Centering on this, in the case of surgery for a specific disease such as cancer, which relied only on the doctor's experience because the diagnosis is unclear, tissue-specific contrast media can be used to solve problems that can be diagnosed and treated, and to accurately evaluate the physiological changes and changes in the microsurgical area of the patient. The need to develop a system for real-time image-guided surgery has emerged, and many studies are being conducted.

However, despite many studies, current research and development have limitations such as the absence of tissue-specific fluorescent molecules and limitations of high-efficiency real-time fluorescence image acquisition systems.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention relates to a fluorescence diagnostic apparatus capable of performing diagnosis by visually confirming information on the existence and location of a tissue to be treated by observing a site to be treated by a diagnostician, and a method for controlling the same.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a probe including an LED module emitting light in a specific wavelength region and an optical fiber emitting light in a wavelength region different from the LED module, a controller for controlling each unit, and the LED module and optical fiber It is characterized in that it consists of a light source acquisition unit that generates visible light and near-infrared light images by obtaining the light emitted from the treatment target area and reflected.

In addition, a hole is formed in the center of the probe, and a plurality of the LED module and the optical fiber are disposed outside the hole of the probe at a predetermined distance from each other.

In addition, the probe further includes a zoom function unit capable of adjusting a divergence angle of reflected light obtained by being coupled to the hole so as to be positioned on the upper surface.

In addition, a shutter portion positioned on the upper surface of the probe to selectively shield the hole of the probe so that only a specific light passes therethrough is further included.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the treatment target site from which the fluorescence signal is obtained is located inside the skin or living body, and image information about visible light and infrared light so that it can be easily seen from the outside of the skin or living body By visualizing the , the user can diagnose the treatment target area located inside the skin or living body while watching the image.

1 is a perspective view of a fluorescence diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the overall configuration of a fluorescence diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a plan view of a probe in the fluorescence diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a schematic diagram of a probe when a zoom function is included in the fluorescence diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a schematic diagram of a probe when a shutter unit and a sensor unit are included in the fluorescence diagnosis apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a view showing a state in which visible light and near-infrared light images are transmitted on the display unit in the fluorescence diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a fluorescence diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view of a fluorescence diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating the overall configuration of a fluorescence diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a plan view of a probe in the fluorescence diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a schematic diagram of a probe when a zoom function is included in the fluorescence diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a schematic diagram of a probe when a shutter unit and a sensor unit are included in the fluorescence diagnosis apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a view illustrating a state in which visible light and near-infrared light images are transmitted on a display unit in the fluorescence diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a fluorescence diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but already known technical parts will be omitted or compressed for the sake of brevity of description.

The present invention relates to a fluorescent diagnostic apparatus and a control method therefor, and includes a probe (10) and a control unit (20) for observing a treatment target site of a diagnostician to confirm the existence of a treatment target tissue and visually confirming real-time location information for diagnosis. ), a power supply unit 30 , a light source driver 40 , a light source obtaining unit 50 , and a display unit 60 .

At this time, the control unit 20 including the probe 10, the power supply unit 30, the light source driver 40, the light source acquisition unit 50 and the display unit 60 are to be mounted on a mobile cart for ease of movement. can

1 and 2 , the probe 10 may emit light of different wavelength ranges to a treatment target site. The probe 10 may be irradiated with light so that fluorescence is expressed from the fluorescent agent in proximity to the treatment target site in a state in which the fluorescent agent is previously injected near the treatment target site.

Here, the fluorescent agent is a substance that can be injected into the body to intensively stain the treatment target site, such as a lesion site, cells, or tissue. The fluorescent agent has a property of absorbing light and emitting light in a specific wavelength region. For example, when obtaining light in a wavelength region of 720 nm to 780 nm, ICG that emits fluorescence that is infrared light in a wavelength region of 800 nm to 850 nm can be

The probe 10 may be formed in a shape that can be easily gripped by a user and positioned on a site to be treated. In this case, the probe 10 includes an LED module 11 and an optical fiber 12 to emit light of different wavelength ranges.

The LED module 11 may generate and emit light of a specific wavelength region. The LED module 11 may emit light for obtaining a visible light image of the treatment target site. The LED module 11 may generate and emit light as it is operated by receiving power from the power supply unit 30 . The light emitted from the LED module 11 may be visible light emitted by complex overlapping of lights in a wavelength region of 400 nm to 700 nm. For example, the light emitted from the LED module 11 may be white light.

The optical fiber 12 may emit light of a specific wavelength region different from the light emitted from the LED module 11 . The optical fiber 12 may emit light for obtaining a near-infrared image of a treatment target site. One end of the optical fiber 12 may be interpolated into the probe 10 , and the other end may be connected to the light source driver 40 so as to emit light from the end. The optical fiber 12 may receive and emit light from the light source driver 40 . The optical fiber 12 may be, for example, an 'optical fiber'. The light emitted from the optical fiber 12 may be monochromatic light in a wavelength range of 750 nm to 850 nm. For example, the light emitted from the optical fiber 12 may be a near-infrared laser. When the light emitted from the optical fiber 12 is a laser, the light may be continuously emitted, but may also be in the form of a pulse. The optical fiber 12 is connected to the light source driver 40 to receive and emit a near-infrared laser,

In this case, the light emitted from the optical fiber 12 may serve as excitation light for excitation of the fluorescent agent.

In addition, referring to FIG. 3 , the LED module 11 and the optical fiber 12 of the probe 10 are formed in plurality, and based on the hole 13 formed in the center of the probe 10, the hole 13 It may be arranged rotationally symmetrically at a predetermined interval to the outside of the .

When the LED module 11 and the optical fiber 12 are formed in plurality, each LED module 11 can be operated by receiving power from the power supply unit 30, and each optical fiber 12 has each other end. It may be connected to the light source driver 40 to receive light.

Therefore, as the LED module 11 and the optical fiber 12 are spaced apart from each other and a plurality of them are disposed on the probe 10, more light is irradiated to the treatment target site, thereby providing a sufficient excitation light source for the fluorescent agent. there will be

Referring to FIG. 4 , the probe 10 may include a zoom function unit 13 capable of generating image information of visible light and near-infrared light enlarged or reduced by the acquisition of reflected light and the light source acquiring unit 50 .

The zoom function unit 13 may include a vertically movable lens 131 inside to adjust the divergence angle of the reflected light transmitted to the light source obtaining unit 50 . In this case, the lens 131 of the zoom function unit 13 may be a 'convex lens'. The zoom function unit 14 may be positioned on the upper surface of the probe 10 while being inserted into the hole 13 of the probe 10 .

therefore. The zoom function unit 13 adjusts the vertical position of the lens 131 in the process of converging the reflected light of the light emitted from the LED module 11 and the optical fiber 12, so that the light passing through the zoom function unit 13 is emitted. The angle may be transmitted to the light source obtaining unit 50 in a changed state.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5 , according to another exemplary embodiment, the shutter unit 15 capable of selectively blocking the light transmitted through the zoom function unit 13 and the distance between the probe 10 and the treatment target site A sensor 16 that can measure the is further included.

The shutter unit 15 may selectively block reflected light of light emitted from the LED module 11 and the optical fiber 12 . The shutter unit 15 may block light by an electrical or mechanical method. The shutter unit 15 may include a filter unit (not shown) capable of passing only a specific wavelength and a motor (not shown) capable of rotating the filter unit (not shown).

For example, in the shutter unit 15 , light in the visible wavelength region passes and the filter unit (not shown) that blocks light having other wavelengths is rotated by a motor (not shown) of the probe 10 . By shielding the hole 13 , it is possible to selectively transmit only visible light to the light source obtaining unit 50 . Conversely, the shutter unit 15 can pass only light in the wavelength region of near-infrared light and block light having other wavelengths.

The sensor unit 16 may measure a distance between the probe 10 and the treatment target site. The sensor unit 16 may be provided in pairs at both ends of the lower surface of the probe 10 . The sensor unit 16 may face the treatment target site. The sensor unit 16 may be, for example, a 'distance measuring sensor' that measures a distance.

Accordingly, the sensor unit 16 can control the amount of light emitted from the LED module 11 and the optical fiber 12 by measuring the distance between the probe 10 and the treatment target site in real time.

The control unit 20 may control each unit. The controller 20 may control light emission from the LED module 11 and the optical fiber 12 in the probe 10 .

More specifically, the controller 20 may control the operation of the LED module 11 so that continuous or discontinuous light is emitted from the LED module 11 . The control unit 20 transmits a control signal to the power supply unit 30 to supply power to the LED module 11 and transmits a trigger signal to the LED module 11 to control the operation of the LED module 11. have.

Also, the controller 20 may control the light source driver 50 to emit continuous or discontinuous light from the optical fiber 12 . The controller 20 may control the light source driver 20 to transmit the light to the optical fiber 12 by transmitting a trigger signal so that the light source driver 20 generates light of a specific wavelength.

In addition, the controller 20 may control the light source acquiring unit 50 to acquire visible light and near-infrared light images. For example, the control unit 20 may control the light source obtaining unit 50 while emitting light from the LED module 11 and the optical fiber 12 so as to obtain continuous visible light and near-infrared light. The control unit 20 receives the visible light and near-infrared light image information generated by obtaining the reflected light of the light emitted through the LED module 11 and the optical fiber 12 from the light source obtaining unit 50, and transmits it to the display unit 60. .

At this time, the control unit 20 transmits the image information to the display unit 60 so that the visible light and near-infrared light images can be transmitted in real time, and the light source obtaining unit ( 50 ), visible light and near-infrared light image information may be separated from each other and transmitted to the display unit 60 .

Also, according to another exemplary embodiment, when the shutter unit 15 and the sensor unit 16 are included, the controller 20 may control each of the shutter unit 15 and the sensor unit 16 .

The control unit 20 may control the shutter unit 15 to transmit selective optical image information on the display unit 60 . The controller 20 may transmit the visible light image information to the display unit 60 by controlling the shutter unit 15 to block the hole 13 in order to transmit only the visible light image information on the display unit 60 .

At this time, referring to FIG. 5 , the display unit 60 may transmit visible light and near-infrared light images, respectively, so as to be visually confirmed by acquiring respective visible light and near-infrared light image information transmitted from the controller 20 .

For example, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B , by respectively transmitting a visible light image and a near-infrared light image on the display unit 60 , the user can easily visually check and diagnose the state of the treatment target site.

At this time, referring to FIG. 5B , a fluorescence signal expressed by absorbing light emitted from the optical fiber 12 appears, and by confirming this, it is possible to determine whether a treatment target site is present.

In addition, the controller 20 may obtain distance information measured from the sensor unit 16 to control the amount of light emitted from the LED module 11 and the optical fiber 12 . The sensor unit 16 receives the light amount information of the reflected light from the light source acquisition unit 50 together with the distance information measured from the sensor unit 16 and controls the LED module 11 and the light source driver 40 to determine the amount of emitted light. can be controlled

For example, when the amount of light measured from the light source acquisition unit 50 is less than or equal to the preset light amount in a state where the distance measured from the sensor unit 16 is included within the preset distance, the LED module 11 and the light source driver 40 It can be controlled so that the amount of light emitted from the is increased.

The power supply unit 30 may supply power to each unit so that each unit can be operated. In particular, when the power supply unit 30 receives a control signal from the control unit 20 , it can supply a constant power to the LED module 11 so that the LED module 11 can be operated. The power supply unit 30 may also serve to supply power from the outside and deliver it to each unit.

The light source driver 40 may generate light of a specific wavelength region. The light source driver 40 may be connected to the optical fiber 12 to transmit the generated light to the optical fiber 12 . The light source driver 40 generates near-infrared light to be emitted from the optical fiber 12 . The light source driver 40 is composed of multiple channels, and when the optical fiber 12 is composed of a plurality, a corresponding number may be formed.

That is, as a plurality of light source drivers 40 are configured, they are connected to each of the plurality of optical fibers 12 to transmit near-infrared light to each optical fiber 12 .

In addition, since each light source driver 40 is composed of multiple channels, when the amount of light emitted through one optical fiber 12 decreases, the amount of light to be transmitted to the optical fiber 12 by electrically connecting another channel can increase

The light source acquisition unit 50 may generate image information by acquiring reflected light emitted from the LED module 11 and the optical fiber 12 and reflected from the treatment target site. The light acquisition unit 50 may be coupled to the hole 13 so as to be located in the center of the probe 10 to obtain reflected light passing through the hole 13 .

The light source acquisition unit 50 may be an 'optical image camera' that generates image information by acquiring reflected light. The light source acquisition unit 50 may generate visible light image information by acquiring visible light that is emitted and reflected from the LED module 11 . The light source acquisition unit 50 may generate near-infrared light image information by obtaining a fluorescence signal from the treatment target site that is emitted from the optical fiber 12 and dyed with a fluorescent agent at the treatment target site.

Also, when the light source obtaining unit 50 obtains visible light and near-infrared light, the light amount of each light obtained may be measured.

The display unit 60 may transmit visible light and near-infrared light received from the control unit 20 as an image. The display unit 60 may be, for example, a 'monitor'. When the visible light and near-infrared light image information is transmitted from the control unit 20 in a separated state, the display unit 60 may transmit the visible light and near-infrared light images in a divided state, respectively.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a fluorescence diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7 , in the control method S10 of the fluorescence diagnostic apparatus, the LED module 11 and the light source driver 30 are operated while the probe 10 is positioned near the treatment target site to irradiate visible light and near-infrared light. It may include a light irradiation step (S100) to make it possible.

The control method (S10) of the fluorescence diagnosis apparatus includes a reflected light acquisition step (S200) of acquiring the reflected light and generating visible light and near-infrared light image information, respectively, when light is irradiated to the treatment target area by the light irradiation step (S100). can do. The reflected light obtaining step S200 may be performed by the light source obtaining unit 50 .

The control method ( S10 ) of the fluorescence diagnostic apparatus may include a light amount measuring step ( S300 ) of measuring the amount of reflected light through the light source obtaining unit ( 50 ) after the reflected light acquisition step ( S200 ).

The control method (S10) of the fluorescence diagnostic apparatus may include a light amount determination step (S400).

In the light amount determination step ( S400 ), the light source obtaining unit 50 may obtain reflected light, measure the amount of the acquired reflected light, and determine whether the measured light amount is equal to or greater than a preset light amount. The preset amount of light may mean an amount of light such that the degree of contrast of an image to be transmitted from the display unit 60 maintains an average.

The control method ( S10 ) of the fluorescence diagnostic apparatus may include a light amount adjusting step ( S500 ) to adjust the light amount when the amount of light measured in the light amount determining step ( S400 ) is less than a preset light amount.

In the light amount adjusting step (S500), when the amount of light measured through the light source obtaining unit 50 is less than a preset light amount, the LED module 11 and the light source driver 50 are controlled, respectively, to adjust the light amount of the emitted light. After the light amount adjustment step 500 , the light irradiation step S100 is re-executed so that the light having the adjusted light amount is irradiated to the treatment target site.

When the amount of light measured in the light amount determination step S400 is equal to or greater than a preset light amount, visible light and near-infrared light image information generated through the light source obtaining unit 50 may be transmitted to the display unit 60 .

After the light amount determination step ( S400 ), the control unit 20 transmits the visible light and near-infrared light image information transmitted from the light source obtaining unit 50 to the display unit 60 so that the visible light and the near-infrared light are respectively transmitted on the display unit 60 . and transmitting a near-infrared light image ( S600 ).

Therefore, in the fluorescence diagnosis apparatus according to the present invention, the treatment target site from which the fluorescence signal is obtained is located inside the skin or body, and image information for visible light and infrared light so that it can be easily seen from the outside of the skin or body By visualizing the , the user can diagnose the treatment target area located inside the skin or living body while watching the image.

That is, even small cells that are difficult to detect only with the user's eyes are transmitted as images with high resolution so that they can be used for diagnosis, which can be easily applied to long-term image-guided surgery.

10: probe 20: control unit
30: power supply unit 40: light source driver
50: light source acquisition unit 60: display unit

Claims (4)

A probe comprising an LED module emitting light in a specific wavelength region and an optical fiber emitting light in a wavelength region different from that of the LED module; and

a control unit that controls each unit; and

and a light source acquisition unit that acquires light emitted from the LED module and the optical fiber and reflected from the treatment target area to generate visible light and near-infrared light images.
The method of claim 1,
The probe has a hole formed in the center, and a plurality of the LED module and the optical fiber are disposed outside the hole of the probe at a predetermined distance from each other.
3. The method of claim 2,
and the probe further includes a zoom function unit capable of adjusting a divergence angle of reflected light that is acquired by being coupled to the hole so as to be positioned on the upper surface.
3. The method of claim 2,
and a shutter unit positioned on the upper surface of the probe to selectively shield the hole of the probe to allow only a specific light to pass therethrough.

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