Ophthalmologic apparatus

Abstract

To provide an ophthalmologic apparatus capable of guiding the subject's chin to an appropriate chin rest position where facial movement is suppressed when the subject places his / her chin on a chin rest.SOLUTION: An ophthalmologic apparatus A includes an optical system 50 that acquires ocular information of the subject's eye E to be examined, and a chin rest 30 that supports the subject's chin J movably in a Y-axis direction relative to a base section 10. The chin rest 30 includes a chin placement surface 301 on which the lower jaw bottom surface portion Jb of the subject is placed, and a chin abutment surface 302 that is formed so as to rise upward from a front end portion of the chin placement surface 301 and against which the lower jaw front surface portion Jf of the subject abuts in a Z-axis direction, on a chin rest base 30b. The chin rest 30 applies a mark 80 to indicate a chin abutment position against which the lower jaw front surface portion Jf of the subject abuts on the chin abutment surface 302.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an ophthalmic apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] The ophthalmic apparatus includes an optical system that acquires ocular information of the subject's eye and a chin rest that supports the subject's chin. Patent Document 1 proposes a technology that includes a determination unit that determines whether the face is properly supported by a face support unit including the chin rest based on the detection result of a pupil image for each anterior eye image by a pupil image detection unit, in order to accurately and reliably acquire the ocular characteristics of the subject's eye. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-69415 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, subjects generally understand the chin rest as a component with a chin rest surface that functions as a chin rest for the chin to rest on. In other words, most subjects do not even realize that the chin rest also has a chin abutment surface that determines the position of the chin in the anterior-posterior axis direction.

[0005] In contrast, the technology described in Patent Document 1 is a technology that determines whether the face is properly supported by the face support unit when acquiring ocular information about the subject's eye. Prior to acquiring ocular information about the subject's eye, the subject's chin is rested on the chin rest in the same conventional procedure. Therefore, with the technology described in Patent Document 1, even if the examiner instructs a subject who does not understand the existence of a chin rest surface to rest their chin on the chin rest, the subject will follow the instruction and rest their chin in the center of the chin rest surface. As a result, the subject's chin rest position ends up being far from the chin rest surface. Here, acquiring ocular information about the subject's eye includes acquiring the ocular characteristics of the subject's eye through subjective measurement, acquiring the ocular characteristics of the subject's eye through objective measurement, and acquiring an image of the subject's eye, such as a fundus image, by photographing it.

[0006] In an ophthalmic apparatus, if the front part of the lower jaw of the subject is not placed against the chin rest surface of the chin rest, the subject's chin is not positioned by the chin rest, and the position of the face (subject's eye) may move unstably when acquiring ocular information of the subject's eye. As a result, when acquiring ocular characteristics as ocular information of the subject's eye, the subject's face may move during measurement, reducing the accuracy of the acquired ocular characteristics or resulting in failure to acquire ocular characteristics. Furthermore, when capturing a fundus image or the like as ocular information of the subject's eye, the subject's face may move during capture, causing blurring or flare in the fundus image or resulting in failure to capture the image at all.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an ophthalmic device that can guide the subject's chin to an appropriate chin rest position that suppresses facial movement when the subject places their chin on the chin rest. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the ophthalmologic apparatus of the present invention includes an optical system for acquiring ocular information of an examinee's eye to be examined, and a chin rest for supporting the examinee's chin so that the chin can be moved in an up-down axial direction relative to a stand. The chin rest has a mark on it indicating a chin rest position against which the front part of the lower jaw of the examinee is to be rested. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The ophthalmic device of the present invention is provided with a mark that allows the subject to recognize the existence of a chin rest position, so that when the subject places their chin on the chin rest, the subject's chin can be guided to an appropriate chin rest position that suppresses facial movement. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall perspective view showing an ophthalmic system including an ophthalmic apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a front view showing the configuration of the ophthalmologic apparatus of the first embodiment as viewed from the chin rest side. [Figure 3] 1 is a side view showing an ophthalmologic apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system configuration in the ophthalmologic apparatus of the first embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is an operation flow diagram showing a photographing process operation of an image of an eye to be examined in a control unit. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a chin rest of the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the chin of a subject is supported by a chin rest portion of a comparative example. FIG. [Figure 8] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing how the chin of a subject is supported by the chin rest portion of the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a chin rest of the second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a chin rest of a third embodiment. [Figure 11] 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 10, showing the chin rest of the third embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a chin rest of a fourth embodiment. [Figure 13] 10 is an explanatory view showing how the lower jaw of a subject is received in the chin receiving portion of Example 4. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The ophthalmic apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to first to fourth embodiments shown in the drawings.

[0012] The ophthalmologic apparatus applied to Examples 1 to 4 is an apparatus that observes, photographs, and records an anterior segment image of the eye to be examined, an eye fundus image of the eye to be examined, and a tomographic image of the eye fundus of the eye to be examined, and provides them as electronic images for diagnosis. Note that, in the figures, X, Y, and Z indicate the X-axis, the left-right axis in the left-right direction (horizontal direction) when facing the main body of the ophthalmologic apparatus with the eye to be examined as a reference, the Y-axis, the up-down axis in the up-down direction (vertical direction), and the Z-axis, the front-back axis in the front-back direction (depth direction) perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis. [Example]

[0013] [Overall configuration of the device (Fig. 1 to 3)] As shown in FIG. 1, the ophthalmologic device A includes a stand unit 10, a main body unit 20, a chin rest unit 30, a control panel unit 40, an optical system 50, a control unit 60, an optical table 70, and a colored sticker 81 (the mark 80 in Example 1).

[0014] The ophthalmic device A includes a fundus camera that captures fundus images of the subject's eye E and an OCT (abbreviation for "Optical Coherence Tomography") that captures fundus tomographic images of the subject's eye E, and is called a 3D fundus imaging device. Here, the fundus camera is a camera that images the fundus condition of the retina, optic nerve, capillaries, and other components at the back of the subject's eye E and captures the fundus image. The OCT is an optical coherence tomography that uses light interference to image the tomographic layers of the retina present at the fundus of the subject's eye E and captures the fundus tomographic images.

[0015] The pedestal unit 10 is placed on an optical table 70 whose height can be adjusted in the Y-axis direction. The pedestal unit 10 supports the main body unit 20 on its upper surface so that it can move in three axial directions: the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis. The pedestal unit 10 has a chin rest 30 on its front surface. The pedestal unit 10 has a power switch 11, a power inlet 12, a USB terminal 13, and a LAN terminal 14 on both side surfaces. "USB" is an abbreviation for "Universal Serial Bus," and "LAN" is an abbreviation for "Local Area Network." The USB terminal 13 is a terminal for connecting external memory, and as shown in FIG. 3, an HDD (abbreviation for "Hard Disk Drive"), a USB memory, etc., is connected to the LAN terminal 14 via a LAN cable 15.

[0016] 3, the gantry 10 has a built-in power supply unit 17 and an XYZ drive unit 18. The power supply unit 17 includes a power switch 11, a power inlet 12, a USB terminal 13, and a LAN terminal 14. The XYZ drive unit 18 is a motor actuator having a motor and a motor drive circuit that drives the main body 20 in three axial directions (three-dimensional directions) of the X, Y, and Z axes when moving the main body 20 relative to the gantry 10 during alignment control.

[0017] The main body 20 is provided so as to be movable in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions by an XYZ drive unit 18 relative to the stand 10 to which the chin rest 30 is fixed. The main body 20 has an optical system 50 built in a main body cover 21 that covers the entire main body 20, which acquires ocular information of the subject's eye E with the chin J supported against the chin rest 30. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a control panel unit 40 is disposed at an upper position on the back of the main body cover 21. In addition to the optical system 50, a control unit 60 is built in the internal space of the main body cover 21, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0018] 2, the main body cover 21 has, at the center of the front surface, an objective lens 51 of the optical system 50 that faces the subject's eye E. The objective lens 51 has, at its periphery, an anterior eye stereo camera 22, a peripheral fixation lamp 23, and an anterior eye observation filter 24.

[0019] The anterior eye stereo camera 22 is a camera that captures anterior eye images by photographing the anterior eye of a subject. The anterior eye stereo camera 22 is composed of two cameras, a right camera 22a and a left camera 22b, positioned on either side of the objective lens 51 with their lens optical axes tilted toward the anterior eye of the subject's eye E, which is the subject of the image capture. The right camera 22a and the left camera 22b capture right and left anterior eye images that are cropped from a portion of the subject's face supported by the chin rest 30, depending on the selected eye E and the angle of view at that time. The anterior eye stereo camera 22 is also composed of the two cameras, the right camera 22a and the left camera 22b, positioned with a predetermined width dimension in the X-axis direction and a predetermined viewing angle. Therefore, the anterior eye stereo camera 22 can identify the three-dimensional coordinate position of the subject's eye E by calculation processing based on the two anterior eye images from the right camera 22a and the left camera 22b.

[0020] The peripheral fixation lights 23 are fixation lights used to fix the line of sight of the subject's eye E by turning them on, and eight of them are arranged at equal intervals around the periphery of the objective lens 51. The anterior segment observation filters 24 are filters used to adjust the amount of light when observing the anterior segment or performing anterior segment OCT, and two filters are arranged vertically outside the right camera 22a and two filters are arranged vertically outside the left camera 22b (four filters in total).

[0021] 2 and 3, the chin rest 30 is a member that supports the chin J of the subject, and is provided so as to be movable up and down relative to the chin rest support part 31 and face support part 33 that are fixed to the pedestal part 10. The chin rest 30 has a lifting rod 30a that moves up and down by a built-in chin rest drive part 32, a chin rest 30b fixed at the upper end position of the lifting rod 30a, and chin rest stop pins 30c provided on both sides of the chin rest 30b.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2 , the chin rest support unit 31 has face support units 33 fixed to both ends of its T-shape, each of which surrounds the face of the subject with the chin J supported on the chin rest unit 30 from three directions. The face support unit 33 is fixed to the pedestal unit 10 and includes a pair of vertical support units 331, 332 extending in the Y-axis direction and a horizontal support unit 333 connecting the upper ends of the pair of vertical support units 331, 332. The pair of vertical support units 331, 332 are provided with eye height lines 33a at positions corresponding to the center height of the measurement unit opening defined by the objective lens 51, serving as a guide for adjusting the subject's eye E to an appropriate height position. The horizontal support unit 333 is provided with a detachable forehead rest unit 33b made of an elastic material such as silicone rubber at the center of the surface that contacts the subject's forehead F. The forehead rest unit 33b is provided with a center line CL that indicates the center position of the chin rest unit 30 in the X-axis direction. Furthermore, the horizontal support portion 333 has an arm 34 that can be bent in multiple stages at the center position of the surface opposite to the surface that contacts the subject's forehead F, and an external fixation target (not shown) is provided at the tip of the arm 34.

[0023] As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the control panel unit 40 is disposed at an upper position on the back surface of the main body cover 21. The control panel unit 40 has a display screen 41 that displays in color an anterior ocular segment image of the subject's eye E from the anterior ocular segment stereo camera 22 and an anterior ocular segment observation image of the subject's eye E from the optical system 50. The display screen 41 is a touch panel that allows the examiner to input operations to the control unit 60 by touching displayed button images and images with his / her finger. The control panel unit 40 is connected and supported to the main body unit 20 by a connecting support unit 42. The connecting support unit 42 has a combined support structure of bending support and rotation support that allows the display screen 41 to be set at any position in the entire circumferential direction relative to the main body unit 20 and also allows the tilt angle of the display screen 41 to be freely set.

[0024] The control panel unit 40 is used when the examiner examines the eye characteristics while standing close to the subject. The connection support unit 42 ensures the function of allowing the examiner to position the display screen 41 at a position that is easy for the examiner to operate, regardless of where the examiner is located around the ophthalmologic apparatus A. The remote control tablet 40' shown in FIG. 1 is used when the examiner examines the eye characteristics by remote control. The remote control tablet 40' has a touch panel display screen 41' and has input operation functions equivalent to those of the control panel unit 40, as well as a communication function with the main body unit 20.

[0025] The optical system 50 acquires ocular information of the subject's eye E while the subject supports his or her chin on the chin rest 30, and as shown in Fig. 3, includes a fundus camera unit 52 having an objective lens 51, and an OCT unit 53. The fundus camera unit 52 includes an illumination optical system and a photographing optical system, and is a unit constituting a fundus camera that acquires a fundus image of the subject's eye E using a lens, an image sensor, etc. The OCT unit 53 is a unit constituting an OCT that acquires a fundus tomographic image of the subject's eye E using a wavelength-tunable light source, a fiber coupler, etc. Note that the optical system 50 has the function of acquiring a fundus image and a fundus tomographic image of the subject's eye E, as well as the function of acquiring an observation image of the anterior segment of the subject's eye E.

[0026] The control unit 60 controls each unit of the device (fundus camera unit 52, OCT unit 53, chin rest unit 30, main body unit 20, etc.) based on various input operations including touch operations on the display screen 41 of the control panel unit 40. As shown in Fig. 3, the control unit 60 has, as its hardware configuration, a control board 60a, a CPU board 60b, and an image board 60c. The control unit 60 will be described in detail later.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 1 , the optical table 70 includes a tabletop 71 on which the ophthalmic apparatus A is placed, tabletop supports 72, caster supports 73, a table lifting mechanism 74, a lifting lever 75, a caster base 76, and casters 77. The table lifting mechanism 74 is disposed inside the tabletop supports 72 and the caster supports 73, and raises and lowers the tabletop supports 72 relative to the caster supports 73. The lifting lever 75 is a manual operation unit that manually raises and lowers the tabletop 71 and the tabletop supports 72 on which the ophthalmic apparatus A is placed. The tabletop stroke amount is set to, for example, about 200 mm. Here, the optical table 70 of Example 1 has a height suitable for imaging in a seated position because the ophthalmic apparatus A is used for performing measurements while the subject is seated (in a seated position) on a chair 78 with an adjustable seat height. The optical table can also be an ophthalmic device that takes images while the subject is standing (standing position), in which case there is no need to provide a chair 78, and a table with a height that corresponds to standing position measurements is used.

[0028] The colored sticker 81 is an example of a mark 80 that is attached to the chin rest 30 and indicates a chin rest position against which the front portion of the lower jaw of the subject's chin J rests. The colored sticker 81 will be described in detail later.

[0029] [Control system configuration (Fig. 4)] The control system of the ophthalmologic apparatus A includes a control panel unit 40 (display screen 41), an optical system 50 (fundus camera unit 52, OCT unit 53), and a control unit 60, as shown in FIG.

[0030] The control unit 60 includes a main control unit 61 that controls the fundus camera unit 52 and the OCT unit 53, a storage unit 62 that stores necessary data, and an alignment control unit 63. The alignment control unit 63 acquires anterior eye images from the anterior eye stereo cameras 22 (right camera 22a, left camera 22b) that capture images of the left and right anterior eye segments of the subject's face from two different directions. The alignment control unit 63 also acquires frontal images of the anterior eye segments and frontal images of the fundus by capturing images of the anterior eye segments and fundus segments of the right and left eyes of the subject's eye E using the optical system 50.

[0031] The alignment control unit 63 adjusts the relative positional relationship between the subject's eye E and the lens center position of the objective lens 51 provided in the main body unit 20 by outputting a drive command to at least one of the XYZ drive unit 18 and the chin rest drive unit 32. Here, the XYZ drive unit 18 and the chin rest drive unit 32 are used in such a way that if the adjustment movement amount is only the XZ-axis movement amount, the XYZ drive unit 18 is used. On the other hand, if the adjustment movement amount includes the Y-axis movement amount, the XYZ drive unit 18 and the chin rest drive unit 32 are used in such a way that the Y-axis movement allowable range of the chin rest drive unit 32 is wider than the movement allowable range of the XYZ drive unit 18. For example, the chin rest drive unit 32 is used for Y-axis movement in chin rest height control, and the XYZ drive unit 18 is used for Y-axis movement in auto alignment or manual alignment.

[0032] The alignment control unit 63 performs alignment control to adjust the positional relationship between the optical system 50 and the subject's eye E when the subject sits in front of the device and places his or her chin on the chin rest 30. As shown in FIG. 4 , the alignment control unit 63 has a notification unit 630, a chin rest height control unit 631, an auto-alignment unit 632, and a manual alignment unit 633.

[0033] Before starting alignment, when the subject places the chin J on the chin rest 30, the notification unit 630 outputs an announcement command to the speaker 64, for example, notifying the subject, "Please place your chin on the marked area."

[0034] The chin rest height control unit 631 controls the output of a drive command to the chin rest drive unit 32 to align the position of the subject's eye E with the height of the eye height line 33a while the subject's chin J is placed on the chin rest unit 30 and the subject's forehead F is pressed against the forehead rest unit 33b.

[0035] The auto-alignment unit 632 performs auto-alignment of the pupil based on the anterior eye images acquired by the anterior eye stereo camera 22. The auto-alignment of the pupil is performed by automatically adjusting the photographed eye so that the pupil marks of the two anterior eye images displayed in the video area of ​​the display screen 41 are aligned. The auto-adjustment of the photographed eye is a control that automatically adjusts the XYZ axis alignment by driving the XYZ driving unit 18 so that the two pupil marks are positioned so as to overlap at the center position of the anterior eye images.

[0036] The manual alignment unit 633 performs manual alignment of the pupil when a preset time limit has elapsed since the start of auto-alignment, or when the examiner actively selects manual operation. For manual alignment of the pupil, tapping the manual mode button displayed on the auto-alignment screen stops the automatic adjustment of the photographed eye and switches to manual adjustment mode, in which the photographed eye is manually adjusted. The manual adjustment mode is performed by manually tapping the pupil marks on the two anterior eye images displayed on the display screen 41. When the examiner taps, the XYZ drive unit 18 drives and performs XYZ axis alignment adjustment so that the two pupil marks are positioned overlapping at the center position of the anterior eye image.

[0037] [Photographing and processing the image of the subject's eye (Fig. 5)] The photographing process performed by the control unit 60 when photographing an image of the eye to be examined (for example, an anterior eye image, a fundus image, or a tomographic image of the fundus) will be described below with reference to Fig. 5. The photographing process starts when the subject is identified by the ophthalmologic apparatus A with the power switch turned on.

[0038] In step S1, the examiner registers the patient (= subject) by entering the name and patient ID to identify the patient. Here, the "patient ID" is an identification number for managing the subject's personal information related to the ophthalmic examination, and can include information such as age, gender, and past examination information for follow-up.

[0039] Step S2 is a step in which the examiner selects the type of imaging. This selection of imaging type is performed by touching and selecting one of the imaging modes (anterior eye image imaging mode, fundus image imaging mode, fundus tomographic image imaging mode, etc.) from the imaging icon selection screen displayed on the display screen 41 of the control panel unit 40. In this step S2, the type of imaging is selected and the eye to be photographed is selected by touching the display button.

[0040] Step S3 is a step in which the notification unit 630 of the alignment control unit 63 outputs an announcement command to the speaker 64, for example, to notify, "Please place your chin on the marked area," when the subject places the chin J on the chin rest 30. This step S3 is executed after adjusting the height of the top plate 71 of the optical table 70 or the chair 78 so that the subject can place the chin J on the chin rest 30 in a comfortable position.

[0041] Step S4 is a step in which the chin rest height control section 631 of the alignment control section 63 controls the chin rest height. In this step S4, the chin rest up / down movement button displayed on the display screen 41 of the control panel section 40 is pressed to adjust the height of the chin rest section 30 so that the position of the outer corner of the eye E to be examined is aligned with the height position of the eye height line 33a on the vertical support sections 331, 332 of the chin rest section 30. In step S4, after completing the chin rest height control, the examiner instructs the subject to press their forehead F against the forehead support section 33b.

[0042] Step S5 is a step in which the auto-alignment unit 632 of the alignment control unit 63 executes auto-alignment (automatic adjustment) for the pupil of the photographed eye. Note that if the auto-alignment time is prolonged or if the examiner actively desires it, the manual alignment unit 633 executes manual alignment (manual adjustment) for the pupil instead of auto-alignment (automatic adjustment) for the pupil.

[0043] Step S6 is a step in which the main control unit 61 performs autofocus for automatic focus adjustment. This autofocus adjusts the focus to the anterior segment of the subject's eye E in the anterior segment image photographing mode, and adjusts the focus to the fundus of the subject's eye E in the fundus image photographing mode and fundus tomographic image photographing mode.

[0044] Step S7 is a step in which the examiner captures an image of the eye to be examined (for example, an anterior eye image, a fundus image, or a tomographic image of the fundus). This capture is performed by tapping the "OK button" on the capture screen displayed on the display screen 41, and the examiner moves on to the next capture. A preview of the captured image is displayed after each capture.

[0045] In step S8, the examiner checks the preview of the captured image and determines whether the preview is OK or NG. If it is determined in step S8 that the preview is OK, the process proceeds to step S9. If it is determined in step S8 that the preview is NG, the process returns to step S6, autofocus is performed again, and photographing is attempted in step S7 until it is determined in step S8 that the preview is OK.

[0046] Step S9 is a step in which the examiner saves the captured image in the storage unit 62. When the examiner taps the "save button" on the shooting screen displayed on the display screen 41, the captured image at that time is saved in the storage unit 62, and when saving is complete, the process proceeds to END.

[0047] [Chin rest configuration (Fig. 2, Fig. 6)] The chin rest 30 has a chin rest 30b fixed to the upper end of an elevation rod 30a that is raised and lowered by a chin rest drive unit 32, and the chin rest 30b has a chin rest surface 301 and a chin butting surface 302. The chin rest surface 301 is a surface on which the bottom portion Jb of the subject's chin J is placed. The chin butting surface 302 is formed by rising upward from the front end of the chin rest surface 301, and is a surface against which the front portion Jf of the subject's chin J is butted in the X-axis direction. The chin rest 30b is resin-molded using a whitish ABS resin or similar material.

[0048] The chin rest 30 has a mark 80 on its chin rest surface 302, which indicates the chin rest position against which the front portion of the lower jaw Jf of the subject rests. The mark 80 is placed on the chin rest surface 302 at the center of the chin rest 30 in the X-axis direction and at the upper portion of the surface in the Y-axis direction. The mark 80 is a blue oval colored sticker 81 attached to the chin rest surface 302 at the chin rest position. Here, the chin rest surface 302 is a surface that rises almost vertically from the front end of the chin rest surface 301, and the height of the chin rest surface 302 is, for example, about 20 mm.

[0049] The center position of the chin rest 30 in the X-axis direction is the position where a line extending vertically from the center line CL provided on the forehead rest 33b coincides with the central vertical line of the colored sticker 81. The aim of this is to prevent the face from being supported with its face tilted in the X-axis direction by aligning the center line CL and the colored sticker 81 with the center line of the face when the subject places their chin J on the chin rest 30.

[0050] The position of the upper surface in the Y-axis direction refers to the position of the upper region when the upper and lower regions are divided by the center line of the surface height of the chin rest surface 302. The aim of this is to make it easier for the subject to recognize the mark 80 as shown in FIG. 2, and also to prevent the colored sticker 81 from being hidden by the chin rest paper P, for example, when multiple rectangular chin rest paper sheets P are attached to the chin rest paper pin 30c of the chin rest stand 30b. When taking fundus images or the like for multiple subjects, the ophthalmologic apparatus A may remove the topmost chin rest paper sheet and replace it with a new one each time a subject is changed, or may disinfect the chin rest surface 301 and the chin rest surface 302 each time a subject is changed. When disinfecting, the chin rest paper P is not used.

[0051] An example of a blue oval-shaped colored sticker 81 is shown. The reason for this is that blue stands out against the whitish color of the chin rest 30b, and an oval-shaped sticker ensures a large sticker area that is easy for the subject to visually recognize.

[0052] [Chin support function using landmarks (Fig. 7, Fig. 8)] As shown in Figure 7, the ophthalmic device of the comparative example does not have a mark on the chin rest, which supports the subject's chin so that it can move in the vertical axial direction relative to the stand, to indicate the chin rest position against which the front part of the subject's lower jaw should be rested.

[0053] First, subjects understand the chin rest as a component with a chin rest surface that functions as a chin rest for the chin to rest on. In other words, most subjects do not even realize that the chin rest also has a chin abutment surface that determines the position of the chin in the anterior-posterior axis.

[0054] In the ophthalmologic apparatus of the comparative example, even if the examiner instructs a subject who does not understand the existence of the chin rest surface to place their chin on the chin rest, the subject will follow the instruction and place their chin in the center of the chin rest surface. This is because the subject does not understand the existence of the chin rest surface, and also because the subject begins the chin resting action based on the understanding that it is sufficient to place their chin on the chin rest as instructed.

[0055] 7, the ophthalmologic apparatus of the comparative example positions the subject's chin at a position away from the chin rest surface and in front of the subject, forming a gap δ that allows movement of the chin J between the front part of the subject's lower jaw Jf and the chin rest surface. The subject's face is supported at two points: a forehead support point P1 that supports the subject's forehead F on the forehead rest, and a jaw base support point P2 that supports the bottom part of the subject's lower jaw Jb on the chin rest surface.

[0056] Therefore, in the ophthalmic apparatus of the comparative example, the front part of the lower jaw Jf of the subject is not restricted in positioning in the Z-axis direction by the chin restraint surface, and therefore the position of the face (subject's eye E) may move without being fixed when acquiring eye information of the subject's eye E. As a result, when the ophthalmic apparatus is used to capture a fundus image or the like as eye information of the subject's eye, the subject's face may move during capture, causing blurring or flare in the fundus image or the like, or even causing the capture itself to fail.

[0057] The inventors have noticed that one of the reasons why the position of the face (subject's eye E) cannot be determined when acquiring ocular information about the subject's eye E is that the subject does not understand the existence of a chin rest surface and the subject's chin J is not properly supported by the chin rest. The ophthalmic apparatus A includes an optical system 50 that acquires ocular information about the subject's eye E, and a chin rest 30 that supports the subject's chin J so that it can move in the up-down axial direction relative to the stand 10. The chin rest 30 is configured to have a mark 80 that indicates the chin rest position against which the front part of the subject's lower jaw Jf should rest.

[0058] When the subject visually checks the mark 80 on the chin rest 30 before placing the chin on the chin rest surface 301, the subject can recognize that the position of the presented mark 80 is the position where the chin J (see FIG. 3) should be placed. In other words, the subject can understand that the chin rest surface 302 exists on the chin rest 30 because of the mark 80 that indicates the chin rest position.

[0059] 8, the ophthalmic apparatus A places the subject's chin J in an appropriate chin rest position that contacts both the chin rest surface 301 and the chin rest surface 302 with the mark 80, and no gap is formed between the front portion of the subject's lower jaw Jf and the chin rest surface 302. In this way, by placing the mark 80 on the chin rest portion 30 so that the subject knows that there is a chin rest position, the ophthalmic apparatus A can guide the subject's chin J to an appropriate chin rest position that limits facial movement when the subject places their chin J on the chin rest portion 30.

[0060] The subject's face is supported at three points: a forehead support point P1 that supports the subject's forehead F on the forehead support portion 33b; a jaw base support point P2 that supports the bottom part of the subject's lower jaw Jb on the chin rest surface 301; and a jaw front support point P3 that supports the front part of the subject's lower jaw Jf on the chin rest surface 302. Therefore, when ocular information of the subject's eye E is being acquired, the position of the face is restricted by the three-point support of the forehead support point P1, the jaw base support point P2, and the jaw front support point P3, thereby suppressing movement of the face (the subject's eye E). As a result, when the ophthalmologic apparatus A is used to capture a fundus image or the like as ocular information of the subject's eye E, movement of the subject's face during capture is suppressed, preventing blurring or flare in the fundus image or failure to capture the image at all. In particular, taking a tomographic image of the fundus of the subject's eye E is the type of imaging that takes the longest time (for example, about 20 minutes), and during such long imaging sessions, it is effective to suppress facial movement and maintain the position of the face by using three-point support.

[0061] [Chin rest effect achieved by using landmarks and announcements together (Fig. 5)] When capturing an image of the subject's eye, the process proceeds in the order of Step S1 → Step S2 → Step S3 → Step S4 → Step S5 → Step S6 → Step S7 → Step S8 in FIG. If the preview confirmation is OK in Step S8, the process proceeds to Step S9 → End. In Step S3, when the subject places their chin J on the chin rest 30, the notification unit 630 of the alignment control unit 63 outputs an announcement command to the speaker 64, such as "Please place your chin on the marked area." Step S3 is executed after Step S2, which selects the type of imaging, and after adjusting the height of the top plate 71 of the optical table 70 or the chair 78 so that the subject can place their chin J on the chin rest 30 in a comfortable position. In Step S4, the chin rest height control unit 631 of the alignment control unit 63 controls the chin rest height of the chin rest 30. Step S4 is executed after the operation of placing the subject's chin J on the chin rest portion 30 is completed in step S3.

[0062] In this way, when the ophthalmologic apparatus A notifies the subject, who understands the existence of the chin rest surface 302 due to the mark 80 being attached, that "please place your chin on the mark," the subject, in accordance with the notification, places his or her chin J on the chin rest surface 301 in contact with the chin rest surface 302. This is because the subject, who understands the existence of the chin rest surface 302, moves on to the action of placing his or her chin J toward the mark 80, as instructed by the notified message. Therefore, when the subject places his or her chin J on the chin rest portion 30, the chin J is more reliably guided to an appropriate chin rest position that suppresses facial movement than when no notification is given.

[0063] [Effects of Ophthalmic Device A] (1) The ophthalmologic apparatus A includes an optical system 50 that acquires ocular information of the subject's eye E, and a chin rest 30 that supports the subject's chin J so that it can move in the up-down axial direction (Y-axis direction) relative to the stand 10. The chin rest 30 has a mark 80 that indicates the chin rest position against which the front portion of the subject's lower jaw Jf should rest. The present invention can provide an ophthalmologic apparatus A that guides the subject's chin J to an appropriate chin rest position that suppresses facial movement when the subject places the chin J on the chin rest portion 30.

[0064] (2) The chin rest 30 has a chin rest surface 301 on which the bottom portion of the lower jaw Jb of the subject is placed, and a chin butting surface 302 formed by rising upward from the front end of the chin rest surface 301 and against which the front portion of the lower jaw Jf of the subject is butted in the anterior-posterior axis direction (Z axis direction). The mark 80 is attached to the chin butting surface 302. In this invention, when the subject places his / her chin J on the chin rest 30, the subject's chin J can be guided to the chin rest surface 302, which becomes the chin rest position against which the front portion Jf of the subject's lower jaw rests.

[0065] (3) The mark 80 is placed on the chin rest surface 302 at the center position of the chin rest 30 in the left-right axis direction (X axis direction) and at the upper portion of the surface in the up-down axis direction (Y axis direction). This invention can prevent the subject's face from tilting in the left-right axis direction (X-axis direction) when the subject places his / her chin J on the chin rest portion 30, and can also place a mark 80 at a position on the chin rest surface 302 that is easily visible to the subject.

[0066] (4) The control unit 60, which controls each unit of the device, has an alignment control unit 63 that controls the adjustment of the positional relationship between the optical system 50 and the subject's eye E when the subject's chin J is placed on the chin rest 30. The alignment control unit 63 has a notification unit 630 that notifies the subject to place the chin on the mark 80 when the subject's chin J is placed on the chin rest 30. When the subject places his / her chin J on the chin rest portion 30, this invention can increase the reliability of guiding the subject's chin J to an appropriate chin rest position where facial movement is suppressed compared to when no notification is given.

[0067] (5) The mark 80 is a colored sticker 81 of a predetermined shape attached to the chin rest position. In this invention, by simply preparing a colored sticker 81 of a predetermined shape, the colored sticker 81 can be attached as a mark 80 at the chin rest position not only to new ophthalmic devices having a chin rest portion 30 but also to existing ophthalmic devices. [Example]

[0068] Example 2 is an example in which the mark 80 is a colored coating portion 82. The overall configuration of the device (FIGS. 1 to 3), the configuration of the control system (FIG. 4), and the photographing processing operation of the image of the eye to be examined (FIG. 5) in Example 2 are the same as those in Example 1 except for the mark 80, and therefore will not be illustrated or described again.

[0069] [Chin rest configuration (Fig. 9)] The chin rest 30 has a mark 80 on its chin rest surface 302, which indicates the chin rest position against which the front portion of the lower jaw Jf of the subject rests. The mark 80 is attached to the chin rest surface 302 at the center of the chin rest 30 in the X-axis direction and at the upper portion of the surface in the Y-axis direction. The mark 80 is a blue oval-shaped painted portion 82 painted on the chin rest surface 302 at the chin rest position.

[0070] The colored painted portion 82 is shown as an example of a blue oval shape. The reason for this is that blue is a color that stands out against the whitish color of the chin rest 30b, and when the marking shape is oval, a wide painted area that is easy for the subject to visually recognize can be secured in a limited area. Note that the other configurations of the chin rest 30 are the same as in Example 1, so their explanations are omitted. Also, the chin resting action by the marking and the chin resting action by the combined use of the marking and the announcement are the same as in Example 1, so their explanations are omitted.

[0071] [Effects of Ophthalmic Device A] The ophthalmologic apparatus A of the second embodiment has the following advantages in addition to the advantages (1) to (4) of the first embodiment. (6) The mark 80 is a colored painted portion 82 of a predetermined shape applied to the chin rest position. This invention makes it possible to attach a colored painted portion 82 as a painted mark 80 at the chin rest position not only to new ophthalmic devices having a chin rest portion 30 but also to existing ophthalmic devices, without increasing the number of parts. [Example]

[0072] Example 3 is an example in which the mark 80 is a light-emitting unit 83. The overall configuration of the device of Example 3 (FIGS. 1 to 3), the configuration of the control system (FIG. 4), and the photographing processing operation of the image of the eye to be examined (FIG. 5) are the same as those of Example 1 except for the mark 80, and therefore will not be illustrated or described again.

[0073] [Chin rest configuration (Fig. 10, Fig. 11)] The chin rest 30 has a mark 80 on its chin rest surface 302, which indicates the chin rest position against which the front portion of the lower jaw Jf of the subject rests. The mark 80 is placed at the center of the chin rest 30 in the X-axis direction on the chin rest surface 302, and at the upper portion of the surface in the Y-axis direction. The mark 80 is a light-emitting unit 83 that is provided on the chin rest surface 302 and emits light in a circular shape.

[0074] As shown in Fig. 10, the light-emitting unit 83 has a first light-emitting hole 83b that irradiates light from the common light source 83a toward the subject in the Z-axis direction and a second light-emitting hole 83c that irradiates light from the common light source 83a upward in the Y-axis direction. As shown in Fig. 11, the first light-emitting hole 83b is a circular or elliptical hole in the Z-axis direction that opens on the chin support surface 302 and has a larger hole diameter than the second light-emitting hole 83c. As shown in Fig. 11, the second light-emitting hole 83c is a circular or elliptical hole in the Y-axis direction that opens on the upper end surface 303 of the chin rest 30b, which has an increased thickness in the Z-axis direction, and branches off from the first light-emitting hole 83b. In this light-emitting unit 83, the common light source 83a is connected to a light-emitting circuit not shown. The light emitting circuit of the common light source 83a lights or flashes the common light source 83a in accordance with the timing at which the notification "Please place your chin on the marked area" begins, for example, in step S3 of Figure 5, and turns it off when a predetermined time has passed or when the subject's chin is completely rested.

[0075] The light-emitting unit 83 has been shown as an example of a configuration having a first light-emitting hole 83b and a second light-emitting hole 83c. The reason for this is that the first light-emitting hole 83b functions to indicate the chin-butting position against which the front portion of the lower jaw Jf of the subject is to be butted, and the second light-emitting hole 83c functions to indicate the center position of the chin rest 30 in the X-axis direction. Note that the other configurations of the chin rest 30 are the same as in Example 1, and therefore their explanations are omitted. Furthermore, the chin rest function using the mark and the chin rest function using the mark and the announcement in combination are the same as in Example 1, and therefore their explanations are omitted.

[0076] [Effects of Ophthalmic Device A] The ophthalmologic apparatus A of the third embodiment has the following advantages in addition to the advantages (1) to (4) of the first embodiment. (7) The mark 80 is provided at the chin rest position and is a light-emitting portion 83 that emits light in a predetermined shape. This invention can present the chin-butting position against which the front portion of the lower jaw Jf of the subject is to be butted by a strong visual stimulus of light when the subject places his / her chin J on the chin rest 30. In this invention, by configuring the light-emitting unit 83 to have the first light-emitting hole 83b and the second light-emitting hole 83c, when the subject places his / her chin J on the chin rest 30, it is possible to present the chin-butting position as well as the central position of the chin rest 30. [Example]

[0077] Example 4 is an example in which the mark 80 is an elastic mark 84. The overall configuration of the device (FIGS. 1 to 3), the configuration of the control system (FIG. 4), and the photographing processing operation of the image of the eye to be examined (FIG. 5) of Example 4 are the same as those of Example 1 except for the mark 80, and therefore will not be illustrated or described again.

[0078] [Chin rest configuration (Fig. 12)] The chin rest 30 has a mark 80 on its chin rest surface 302, which indicates the chin rest position against which the front portion of the lower jaw Jf of the subject rests. The mark 80 is placed on the chin rest surface 302 at the center of the chin rest 30 in the X-axis direction and at the upper portion of the surface in the Y-axis direction. The mark 80 is an elastic mark 84 that is provided on the chin rest surface 302 and elastically deforms when it comes into contact with the subject's chin J.

[0079] The elastic marker 84 is configured to have a hook-shaped mounting base 84a and a circular protrusion 84b integrally molded with the mounting base 84a. The mounting base 84a is detachably attached to a vertical wall of the chin rest 30b, which has the chin rest surface 302, by pulling it out upward and inserting it from top to bottom. The circular protrusion 84b protrudes in a circular shape in the Z-axis direction from the upper part of the chin rest surface 302 of the mounting base 84a toward the subject. The center position of the circular protrusion 84b is aligned with the center position of the chin rest 30 in the X-axis direction. The elastic marker 84 is blue in color and made of the same material (such as silicone rubber) as the material of the forehead rest 33b.

[0080] [Chin rest function by the chin rest (Fig. 13)] The subject's chin resting position can be recognized by visually checking the elastic mark 84 attached to the chin rest portion 30 before placing the chin on the chin rest surface 301. When the subject places the chin on the chin rest surface 301, the subject's lower jaw front portion Jf comes into contact with the chin rest surface 301. After that, as shown in FIG. 13 , as the pressing force from the lower jaw front portion Jf increases, the elastic mark 84 elastically deforms in accordance with the increase in pressing force. When elastically deformed, the elastic mark 84 applies a restoring force to the lower jaw front portion Jf of the subject to return the deformation. Therefore, the subject can maintain contact with the chin restoring surface 302 due to the sensation of the restoring force from the elastic mark 84. Here, the elastic marker 84 is made of the same material as the forehead rest portion 33b, so the feeling of contact with the chin J and the feeling of contact with the forehead F are the same, making it easier to understand that the front portion of the lower jaw Jf has come into contact with the chin rest surface 302.

[0081] The elastic marker 84 is provided detachably with respect to the chin rest 30. For this reason, for example, if one elastic marker 84 is prepared, when switching subjects, the elastic marker 84 can be removed from the chin rest 30, disinfected, and the disinfected elastic marker 84 can be attached to the chin rest 30, thereby reusing one elastic marker 84. For example, if multiple elastic markers 84 are prepared, the used elastic marker 84 can be quickly replaced with a new elastic marker 84 when switching subjects.

[0082] [Effects of Ophthalmic Device A] The ophthalmologic apparatus A of the fourth embodiment has the following advantages in addition to the advantages (1) to (4) of the first embodiment. (8) The mark 80 is an elastic mark 84 that is provided at the chin rest position and elastically deforms when it comes into contact with the chin J of the subject. In this invention, when the subject places their chin J on the chin rest 30, the presence of the elastic marker 84 can indicate the chin rest position against which the front portion of the subject's lower jaw Jf should rest, and after the front portion of the subject's lower jaw Jf makes contact, the contact state can be maintained by the feel. In particular, if the material of the elastic marker 84 is the same as that of the forehead rest 33b, the feel of the chin J making contact and the feel of the forehead F making contact will be of the same quality, making it easier to understand that contact has occurred.

[0083] (9) The elastic mark 84 is provided detachably to the chin rest 30. In this invention, when switching subjects, if one elastic marker 84 is prepared, the elastic marker 84 can be removed, disinfected, and reused, or if multiple elastic markers 84 are prepared, the used elastic marker 84 can be replaced with a new elastic marker 84.

[0084] The ophthalmic apparatus A of Examples 1 to 4 has been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration of the ophthalmic apparatus of the present invention is not limited to Examples 1 to 4, and design changes and additions are permitted as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the invention according to each claim of the claims.

[0085] In the first to fourth embodiments, the chin rest 30b has a chin rest surface 301 and a chin butting surface 302 that intersect almost perpendicularly. However, the chin rest is not limited to the examples having two perpendicular intersecting surfaces shown in the first to fourth embodiments. For example, the chin rest may have a curved surface shape in the area connecting the chin rest surface and the chin butting surface, or the chin rest may have a curved chin rest shape with a gradual change in curvature over the entire surface including the chin rest surface and the chin butting surface.

[0086] In the first to fourth embodiments, the alignment control unit 63 includes a notification unit 630 that notifies the examinee that "please place your chin on the marked portion" when the examinee places the chin J on the chin rest 30, and the mark 80 and the notification are used together. However, the alignment control unit may not include a notification unit. In a case where the notification unit is not included, the examiner may orally instruct the examinee, for example, in accordance with the operating procedure manual, to "please place your chin on the marked portion" when the examinee places the chin on the chin rest.

[0087] In Example 1, an example was shown in which a blue, oval-shaped colored sticker 81 was attached as the mark 80. In Example 2, an example was shown in which a blue, oval-shaped colored painted portion 82 was painted as the mark 80. However, the color and shape of the colored sticker 81 and the colored painted portion 82 are not limited to blue and oval. For example, various colors and shapes can be selected for the colored sticker and the colored painted portion as long as they are a color that stands out visually against the color of the chin rest and have a shape that can be visually recognized by the subject. Furthermore, pattern stickers with various patterns printed thereon can also be used as the mark.

[0088] In the third embodiment, an example of the light-emitting unit 83 having a first light-emitting hole 83b and a second light-emitting hole 83c is shown as the mark 80. However, the light-emitting unit 83 is not limited to the example shown in the third embodiment. For example, the light-emitting unit may have only the first light-emitting hole. Furthermore, the light-emitting unit may be configured to illuminate or flash the entire chin-butting surface of the chin rest. Furthermore, the light-emitting unit may be configured such that a strip-shaped LED is attached to the edge or a predetermined area of ​​the chin-butting surface of the chin rest to highlight the chin-butting position.

[0089] In the fourth embodiment, the marker 80 is an elastic marker 84 that is detachably attached to the chin rest 30 and has an attachment base 84a and a circular protrusion 84b. However, the elastic marker 84 is not limited to the example shown in the fourth embodiment. For example, the elastic marker 84 may be configured with only the attachment base 84a and without the circular protrusion 84b. In the elastic marker 84 that does not have the circular protrusion 84b, the subject-side portion of the attachment base 84a functions as a protrusion on the chin rest surface 302. The elastic marker may also be fixed to the chin rest by adhesive or the like. Furthermore, the elastic marker may be detachably attached by a configuration other than pulling it out and inserting it from above, such as a configuration for attachment and removal from the side or a configuration for clamping it using a spring.

[0090] In Examples 1 to 4, an example of application of the present invention to an ophthalmic apparatus A is shown, which observes, photographs, and records an anterior segment image of a subject's eye, a fundus image of the subject's eye, and a tomographic image of the fundus of the subject's eye, and provides the image as an electronic image for diagnosis. However, the application of the present invention to an ophthalmic apparatus is not limited to an ophthalmic apparatus A equipped with an imaging optical system that photographs various images of the subject's eye. The ophthalmic apparatus to which the present invention is applied may be, for example, an ophthalmic apparatus equipped with a subjective measurement optical system that subjectively measures various characteristics of the subject's eye, or an ophthalmic apparatus equipped with an objective measurement optical system that objectively measures various characteristics of the subject's eye. In short, the present invention can be applied to various ophthalmic apparatuses as long as they are equipped with an optical system that acquires ocular information of the subject's eye and a chin rest that supports the subject's chin so that it can move in the up-down axial direction relative to a pedestal. [Explanation of symbols]

[0091] A Ophthalmology equipment 10 Stand 20 Main body 30 Chin rest 30b Chin rest 301 Chin rest surface 302 Chin rest surface 50 Optical system 60 Control Unit 63 Alignment control unit 630 Information Department 80 mesh print E quilt eyes J Jaw Jf front part of the lower jaw Jb bottom part of the jaw F

Claims

1. an optical system for acquiring ocular information of a subject's eye; a chin rest that supports the chin of the subject so as to be movable in an up-down axial direction relative to a base unit, The chin rest portion has a mark indicating a chin rest position against which the front part of the lower jaw of the subject is to be rested. An ophthalmic device characterized by:

2. 2. The ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1, the chin rest includes a chin rest surface on which a bottom surface of the lower jaw of the subject is placed, and a chin abutting surface that is formed to rise upward from a front end of the chin rest surface and abuts a front surface of the lower jaw of the subject in a front-to-back axis direction, The mark is attached to the chin rest surface. An ophthalmic device characterized by:

3. 3. The ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 2, The mark is attached to the chin rest surface at a central position of the chin rest portion in the left-right axis direction and at an upper portion of the surface in the up-down axis direction. An ophthalmic device characterized by:

4. 4. The ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 3, a control unit that controls each unit of the device includes an alignment control unit that controls adjustment of a positional relationship between the optical system and the subject's eye while the subject's chin is placed on the chin rest, The alignment control unit has a notification unit that notifies the subject to place their chin on the mark when placing their chin on the chin rest. An ophthalmic device characterized by:

5. 5. The ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1, The mark is a colored sticker of a predetermined shape attached to the chin rest position. An ophthalmic device characterized by:

6. 5. The ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1, The mark is a colored painted part of a predetermined shape applied to the chin rest position. An ophthalmic device characterized by:

7. 5. The ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1, The mark is a light-emitting portion that is provided at the chin rest position and emits light in a predetermined shape. An ophthalmic device characterized by:

8. 5. The ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1, The mark is an elastic mark that is provided at the chin rest position and elastically deforms when it comes into contact with the subject's chin. An ophthalmic device characterized by:

9. 9. The ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 8, The elastic mark is provided detachably to the chin rest. An ophthalmic device characterized by:

Images