IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,295,386
Granted Patent B2
US 9,295,386 · App. 14/226,290 · Granted Mar 29, 2016

Ophthalmologic apparatus

Inventors: Yasufumi Fukuma (Tokyo, JP); Kanichi Tokuda (Tokyo, JP); Taiki Aimi (Tokyo, JP); Atsushi Kubota (Tokyo, JP); Yusuke Ono (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOPCON
A61B3/12A61B3/0008A61B3/102A61B3/152
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,295,386
App. No.
14/226,290
Granted
Mar 29, 2016
Kind
B2
Abstract

An ophthalmologic apparatus of an embodiment includes an examination part, a moving mechanism, an information obtaining part, and a controller. The examination part is configured to include an optical system for optically examining an eye. The moving mechanism is configured to move the optical system. The information obtaining part is configured to obtain information for carrying out position matching of the optical system to the eye. The controller is configured to carry out first control for the moving mechanism based on the information obtained by the information obtaining part to move the optical system, determine whether information optically obtained by the optical system after the first control is appropriate to the examination or not, and when it is determined that this information is not appropriate, carry out second control for the moving mechanism in response to a prescribed trigger to move the optical system.

Claims (52)

1. An ophthalmologic apparatus comprising:

an examination part configured to include an optical system for optically examining an eye, the optical system being an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system;

a moving mechanism configured to move the optical system;

an information obtaining part configured to obtain information for carrying out position matching of the optical system to the eye;

a controller configured to carry out first control for the moving mechanism based on the information obtained by the information obtaining part to move the optical system, determine whether information optically obtained by the optical system after the first control is appropriate to the examination or not, and when it is determined that this information is not appropriate, carry out second control for the moving mechanism in response to a prescribed trigger to move the optical system, wherein

the optical system is configured to irradiate light from a light source onto an eye fundus, detect returned light of this light from the eye fundus; split light from the light source into signal light and reference light; scan the eye fundus with the signal light; detect interference light obtained by composing returned light of the signal light from the eye fundus and the reference light; and include an optical-path-length changing part configured for relatively changing optical path length of the signal light and optical path length of the reference light,

the examination part is configured to include a cross sectional image forming part configured to form a cross sectional image of the eye fundus based on the detection result of the interference light by the optical system, and

the controller is configured to perform the determination based on the detection result of the returned light; carry out the determination based on the detection result of the interference light or the cross sectional image; and, in the determination, while controlling the optical system in such a way as to repeatedly scan the same portion of the eye fundus, control the optical-path-length changing part such that the eye fundus is depicted in a prescribed area in a frame based on detection results of the interference light or cross sectional images repeatedly obtained by this control, and determine that the information optically obtained by the optical system is not appropriate when the eye fundus is not depicted in the prescribed area.

2. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to

determine whether information optically obtained by the optical system after the second control is appropriate to the examination or not, and

when it is determined that this information is not appropriate, carry out third control for the moving mechanism to move the optical system.

3. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to

move the optical system in a first direction by the second control, and

move the optical system in a second direction that is the opposite direction to the first direction by the third control.

4. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to

move, by the second control, the optical system to the position that is prescribed distance away in the first direction from the position after the movement by the first control, and

move, by the third control, the optical system to the position that is the prescribed distance away in the second direction from the position after the movement by the first control.

5. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the first direction is a downward direction or a sagittal line direction.

6. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein

the controller is configured to display an object including a first operating element on a display means when it is determined that the information optically obtained by the optical system after the first control is not appropriate, and

the prescribed trigger is operation to the first operating element performed using an operating means.

7. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 6 , wherein

the object includes a second operating element, and

the controller is configured to carry out acquisition of information by the optical system again when operation to the second operating element is performed by using the operating means.

8. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a front-image obtaining part configured to obtain a front image of the eye, wherein

the controller is configured to display, on a display means, information indicating a previously determined destination of the optical system over the front image when it is determined that the information optically obtained by the optical system is not appropriate.

9. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to, when the display position of the information indicating the destination is changed by using an operating means, carry out control of the moving mechanism such that the optical system is moved to the destination after this change.

10. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a front-image obtaining part configured to obtain a front image of the eye, wherein

the controller is configured to

display the front image on a display means, and

when it is determined that the information optically obtained by the optical system after the first control is not appropriate and also when a position in the front image displayed on the display means is designated by using an operating means, carry out control of the moving mechanism such that the optical system is moved to the designated position.

11. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 8 or 10 , further comprising a region-of-interest obtaining part configured to obtain information indicating a region of interest in the eye, wherein

the controller is configured to display the information indicating the region of interest over the front image.

12. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the region-of-interest obtaining part is configured to obtain the information indicating the region of interest based on an image obtained by red reflex imaging previously performed to the eye.

13. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein

the information obtaining part is configured to include one or more imaging part configured to obtain a moving image of an anterior eye part of the eye,

the controller is configured to carry out the first control based on the moving image.

14. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 13 , wherein

the information obtaining part is configured to include

two imaging parts non-coaxially arranged to the optical system, and

a first displacement calculator configured to calculate a displacement between the eye and the optical system by analyzing two images substantially simultaneously obtained by the two imaging parts, and

the controller is configured to carry out the first control based on the displacement calculated by the first displacement calculator.

15. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 13 , wherein

the imaging part is coaxially arranged with the optical system and obtains a moving image of the anterior eye part, and

the information obtaining part is configured to include

an alignment optical system configured to project an alignment target on the anterior eye part, and

a second displacement calculator configured to calculate a displacement between the eye and the optical system by analyzing the moving image of the anterior eye part on which the alignment target is being projected, and

the controller is configured to carry out the first control based on the displacement calculated by the second displacement calculator.

16. The ophthalmologic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein

the controller is configured to, in the second control,

interlockingly carry out control of causing the optical system to repeatedly perform acquisition of the optical information and control of causing the moving mechanism to stepwise move the optical system, and

determine whether this interlocking control is continued or ended based on information successively obtained by the optical system during this interlocking control.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 23, 2014
From: FUKUMA, YASUFUMI; TOKUDA, KANICHI; AIMI, TAIKI; KUBOTA, ATSUSHI; ONO, YUSUKE
To: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOPCON
Reel/Frame 032736/0378 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 61807923 · Apr 3, 2013
Related Publication 20140320809A1 · Oct 30, 2014