Ophthalmologic apparatus and processing program for ophthalmologic apparatus

Abstract

To make personal identification of a subject difficult while allowing checking of the subject's eyes.SOLUTION: An ophthalmological apparatus for use in examining a subject's eye, comprises: captured image acquiring means for acquiring a captured image containing the face of the subject including the subject's eye; and processing means. The processing means acquires and outputs a processed image including an eye region, the processed image being generated by dividing the captured image into an eye region (which includes at least the pupil of the subject's eye) where the subject's eye is present and an unnecessary region which is not necessary for the examination, and by applying processing to the unnecessary region so that personal identification of the subject is impossible. The processing means acquires a processed image including the eye region by applying either of first processing to cut out the eye region from the captured image, and second processing to make visual identification of a feature unique to the subject difficult, to the unnecessary region.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an ophthalmic apparatus used for examining a subject's eye, and a processing program for the ophthalmic apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Known ophthalmic devices for examining a subject's eye include an ocular refractive power measuring device for measuring the ocular characteristics of the subject's eye, an intraocular pressure measuring device, a corneal shape measuring device, an optical coherence tomography (OCT) for photographing the ocular tissue of the subject's eye, a scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO), a fundus camera, a corneal endothelium imaging device, and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-80459 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, when measuring the ocular characteristics of the subject's eye or photographing ocular tissue, an image of the anterior segment of the subject's eye is obtained and output together with the examination results, which can be conveniently used to judge whether the condition of the subject's eye at the time of examination is appropriate and the reliability of the examination results.

[0005] However, if the photographed image of the subject's eye contains not only the subject's eye but also the subject's nose, mouth, ears, eyebrows, facial bones, etc., the subject's identity can be easily identified from these. In this case, there is a risk that the protection of the subject's privacy may be hindered. In addition, in some cases, the subject's personal information may be misused.

[0006] In view of the above-described conventional techniques, the present disclosure has as its technical object to provide an ophthalmologic apparatus and a processing program that can make it difficult to identify an individual subject while allowing the subject's eye to be confirmed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] (1) An ophthalmic apparatus according to a first aspect of the present disclosure is an ophthalmic apparatus used for examining a subject's eye, and includes an image acquisition means for acquiring an image of the subject's face including the subject's eye, and a processing means, wherein the processing means divides the captured image into an eye area where the eye to be examined is located and an unnecessary area not required for the examination, and performs processing on the unnecessary area so that the subject's identity cannot be identified, thereby obtaining and outputting a processed image including the eye area. (2) The processing program of an ophthalmic apparatus according to the second aspect of the present disclosure is a processing program of an ophthalmic apparatus executed in an ophthalmic apparatus used to examine a test eye, and is characterized in that, when executed by a control unit, it causes the ophthalmic apparatus to execute the following steps: an image acquisition step of acquiring an image of the subject's face including the test eye; and a processing step of obtaining and outputting a processed image including the eye region in which the test eye is located and an unnecessary region not required for the test, the processed image being divided into an eye region in which the test target eye is located and an unnecessary region not required for the test, and processing the unnecessary region so that the subject's identity cannot be identified. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the external configuration and the configuration of an optical system of the ophthalmic apparatus, as viewed from the side. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an ophthalmologic apparatus as seen from the subject's side. [Diagram 3] 4 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of a measurement light source provided in a projection optical system; FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system in an ophthalmic apparatus. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a display during alignment of the optometry unit with respect to a subject's eye. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining measurement of eye refractive power by a photorefraction method. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a captured image on which a measurement result is calculated. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating cutting out an eye region. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a second process for an unnecessary region. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating setting of an eye region based on a detected eye. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a processed image in which an elliptical eye region is cut out from a captured image. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] [overview] Hereinafter, one exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the items grouped in <> below can be used independently or in conjunction with each other.

[0010] For example, an ophthalmic apparatus (e.g., the ophthalmic apparatus 1) includes an image capturing means (e.g., the observation optical system 40) and a processing means (e.g., the control unit 50). For example, the ophthalmic apparatus may include an optometry unit (e.g., the optometry unit 2).

[0011] <Ophthalmology Department> For example, the optometry unit is used to examine the subject's eye. For example, the optometry unit includes an examination optical system (for example, a measurement optical system 10). For example, the examination optical system may be a measurement optical system that measures the eye characteristics of the subject's eye, or may be an imaging optical system that images the eye tissue. For example, the measurement optical system may be a measurement optical system that objectively measures the eye refractive power of the subject's eye by a photorefraction method. In this case, the measurement optical system includes a light projecting optical system (for example, a light projecting optical system 10a) that projects measurement light onto the subject's eye, and a light receiving optical system (for example, a light receiving optical system 10b) that receives return light (reflected light) of the measurement light from the subject's eye, and the light receiving optical system may have an image sensor that receives the return light from the subject's eye. For example, the measurement optical system may be an optical system for measuring intraocular pressure, an optical system for measuring corneal shape, etc., in addition to an optical system for measuring eye refractive power. For example, the imaging optical system may be an OCT optical system that obtains a tomographic image of the eye tissue, or an optical system that images the tissue of the anterior segment of the subject's eye or the fundus.

[0012] <Method of acquiring photographed images> For example, the photographed image acquiring means acquires a photographed image of the subject's face including the subject's eye. For example, the photographed image acquiring means may include a photographing means (e.g., an image sensor 24) and may acquire a photographed image by photographing the subject's face including the subject's eye with the photographing means. For example, the photographing means may be included in an observation optical system (e.g., an observation optical system 40) arranged in an optometry section. For example, when an ophthalmic apparatus includes a measurement optical system that measures ocular characteristics of the subject's eye and the measurement optical system includes an image sensor that receives return light of measurement light from the subject's eye, the photographing means may be used as the image sensor of the measurement optical system. For example, when the measurement optical system is an optical system that obtains ocular refractive power by a photorefraction method, the photographing means may be used as the image sensor of the light receiving optical system of the measurement optical system. Also, for example, even if the ophthalmic apparatus does not include an optometry section, the photographed image acquiring means may acquire a photographed image output from the optometry section.

[0013] <Processing means> For example, the processing means divides the photographed image acquired by the photographed image acquisition means into an eye region where the eye to be examined is present and an unnecessary region that is not necessary for the examination. The processing means then acquires a processed image including the eye region, which is a processed image in which processing has been performed on the unnecessary region so that the individual of the subject cannot be identified, and outputs this processed image. This makes it possible to check the subject's eye while making it difficult to identify the individual of the subject. That is, for example, the examiner can check the state of the subject's eye at the time of the examination based on the image of the eye region included in the output processed image, and since the unnecessary region other than the eye region in the processed image has been processed so that the individual of the subject cannot be identified, even if the output processed image is used for another purpose unintentionally, the fear that the protection of the subject's privacy will be hindered can be reduced, and the possibility of the subject's personal information being misused can be reduced. For example, the eye region may be an area including at least the pupil of the subject's eye.

[0014] For example, the processing means may obtain a processed image including the eye region by performing either a first process of cutting out the eye region from the captured image or a second process on the unnecessary region of the image that makes the subject's unique features visually unidentifiable when an observer (examiner or other person) views the processed image.

[0015] For example, in the first process of extracting an eye region from a captured image, the processing means may discard image data of unnecessary regions. This allows image data of only the eye region to be stored in the storage means (e.g., memory 54) and image data of unnecessary regions not to be stored, thereby reducing the possibility that the output processed image will be misused and the fear that the protection of the subject's privacy will be hindered.

[0016] For example, the second processing (processing to make the subject's unique features visually unidentifiable) may be, in other words, processing to deteriorate the image quality of the unnecessary region with respect to the original photographed image. For example, the second processing may be at least one of the following processing to make the luminance gradation of the image of the unnecessary region a single color or multiple colors, mosaic processing, blurring processing, processing to add a color pattern, processing to overlay another image, and processing to replace with another image. These are included in the processing to deteriorate the image quality of the unnecessary region with respect to the original photographed image. The processing to adjust the luminance gradation of the image is easily performed without adding a special processing function to the processing means, as in the first processing to cut out the eye region. Note that the second processing may be performed not on the entire unnecessary region, but partially on at least a part that can identify the subject. For example, the part that can identify the subject may be the nose, ears, mouth, eyebrows, facial bone structure, etc. Furthermore, the second processing may include a processing to generate an image by AI (artificial intelligence).

[0017] For example, the eye region may be set in advance to a predetermined region used for alignment between the subject's eye and the ophthalmic device, or may be set based on the eye detected by image processing of the captured image. For example, the predetermined region used for alignment may be a predetermined range in which the subject's eye is aligned with respect to the optical axis of the examination optical system. For example, the captured image captured by the capturing means (e.g., the image sensor 24) is displayed on the screen of the display means (e.g., the display 5), and the alignment guide indices (e.g., the guide frame GR and the frame GL) are displayed superimposed on the screen, and a predetermined range of the guide indices to which the subject's eye is aligned may be set as the eye region. For example, when the eye region is set based on the detected eye, a predetermined range of the eye region may be set based on a corneal reflection bright spot formed on the subject's eye by illumination light projected onto the subject's eye, or based on a pupil detected by image processing. Note that the eye region may be set so as not to include any part of the subject that can identify the individual other than the eye (e.g., the nose, ears, mouth, eyebrows, facial bones).

[0018] For example, the output of the processed image may include at least one of an output for saving the processed image in a storage means (e.g., memory 54), an output for displaying the processed image on a display means (e.g., display 5), an output for printing the processed image by a printing means (e.g., printer 61), and an output of the processed image to an external device (e.g., external device 63).

[0019] <Processing program> In addition, the present disclosure is not limited to the devices described in the present embodiment. For example, a processing program (software) that performs the functions of the following embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or various storage media. Then, a control unit (e.g., a CPU) of the system or device can read and execute the program.

[0020] For example, a processing program of the ophthalmic device executed in an ophthalmic device used to examine a subject's eye is executed by a control unit to cause the ophthalmic device to execute an image acquisition step and a processing step. For example, the image acquisition step acquires an image of a subject's face including the subject's eye. For example, the processing step divides the image into an eye region where the subject's eye is present and an unnecessary region not required for the examination, and obtains and outputs a processed image including the eye region, which is a processed image that has been processed so that the subject's identity cannot be identified from the unnecessary region.

[0021] [Example] An example of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining the external configuration and the configuration of the optical system of an ophthalmic apparatus 1 according to the example, and is a diagram of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 as viewed from the side. Fig. 2 is a diagram of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 as viewed from the subject side.

[0022] In this embodiment, an ophthalmic device 1 that objectively measures the ocular refractive power of a subject's eye using a photorefraction method will be described as an example. In the photorefraction method of ocular refractive power measurement, for example, the ocular refractive power of the subject's eye is objectively obtained from the ratio of the light reflected from the fundus of the subject's eye to the pupil. In this embodiment, a handheld ophthalmic device 1 will be described as an example.

[0023] 1 and 2, an ophthalmic apparatus 1 includes an eye examination unit 2. Inside the eye examination unit 2, an optical system including a measurement optical system 10 for objectively measuring the ocular refractive power of the subject's eye by a photorefraction method is disposed. A measurement window 3 located on an optical axis L1 of the measurement optical system 10 is provided on the side of the eye examination unit 2 facing the subject's eye. In addition, a distance detector 9 for detecting the distance from the subject may be disposed on the subject side of the eye examination unit 2. For example, an ultrasonic sensor is used as the distance detector 9.

[0024] In addition, a display 5 is disposed on the opposite side of the measurement window 3 in the optometry unit 2. A gripping part 7 to be held by the examiner is attached to the bottom of the optometry unit 2. The examiner can move the optometry unit 2 relative to the subject's eye by holding the gripping part 7 with one hand. In Fig. 1, the left-right direction relative to the subject's eye (examinee) is defined as the X direction, the up-down direction is defined as the Y direction, and the front-back direction (working distance direction) is defined as the Z direction.

[0025] The measurement optical system 10, the illumination optical system 30, and the observation optical system 40, which are examples of examination optical systems arranged in the optometry section 2, will be described below.

[0026] <Measurement optical system> The measurement optical system 10 includes a light projecting optical system 10a and a light receiving optical system 10b. The light projecting optical system 10a includes a measurement light source 13. For example, a red LED (light emitting diode) that emits near-infrared light is used as the measurement light source 13. The light receiving optical system 10b includes an objective lens 22 and an image sensor 24.

[0027] 3 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of the measurement light source 13 provided in the light projection optical system 10a, and shows a diagram when viewed from the subject's eye side. For example, as the measurement light source 13, a plurality of measurement light sources are provided and arranged separately from each other in at least three meridian directions. In this embodiment, as the measurement light source 13, eight sets of measurement light sources (measurement light source 13a, measurement light source 13b, measurement light source 13c, measurement light source 13d, measurement light source 13e, measurement light source 13f, measurement light source 13g, measurement light source 13h) are arranged in four meridian directions.

[0028] For example, eight sets of measurement light sources, ie, measurement light sources 13a to 13h, are arranged at 45° intervals on a concentric circle outside the outer circumferential circle of the objective lens 22. These measurement light sources 13 are fixed to the base 14. The objective lens 22 may be fixed to the base 14. Each of the eight sets of measurement light sources 13a to 13h has three measurement light sources. For example, in the measurement light source 13a, three light sources 13a1, 13a2, and 13a3 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the meridian direction (radial direction) with the optical axis L1 as a reference, in order from the optical axis L1. For the other seven sets of measurement light sources 13b to 13h, the reference symbols in FIG. 3 are omitted, but three light sources are similarly arranged at predetermined intervals in order from the optical axis L1. That is, the eight measurement light sources are arranged on three different concentric circles outside the outer circumferential circle of the objective lens 22.

[0029] By turning on these measurement light sources 13, the measurement light is projected onto the subject's eye, illuminating the anterior segment of the subject's eye and causing the measurement light to enter the pupil. Each measurement light source is independently controlled by a control unit 50, which will be described later. For example, the turning on of each measurement light source, the adjustment of the light amount, etc. are independently controlled.

[0030] The return light (reflected light) from the test eye of the measurement light by the light projection optical system 10a is received by the image sensor 24 via the objective lens 22 of the light receiving optical system 10b, and an image of the anterior part of the test eye including the pupil is captured by the image sensor 24 to obtain a photographed image.

[0031] <Illumination optical system> The illumination optical system 30 is used to illuminate the subject. The illumination optical system 30 includes an illumination light source 32 that emits near-infrared light. Of course, different types of light sources may be used. The illumination light from the illumination light source 32 is irradiated onto the subject, thereby illuminating the face of the subject, including the eyes. There may be a plurality of illumination light sources 32. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, four illumination light sources 32 are arranged symmetrically on the outside of the measurement window 3 with the optical axis L1 as the center. The illumination optical system 30 may also be used as the measurement light source 13.

[0032] In this embodiment, the illumination optical system 30 also serves as an alignment target projection optical system that forms a bright spot, which is an example of an index for alignment detection, on the cornea of ​​the subject eye. Of course, an alignment target projection optical system may be provided separately from the illumination optical system 30.

[0033] <Observation optical system> The observation optical system 40 is used to obtain a photographed image of the subject illuminated by the illumination optical system 30. In this embodiment, the observation optical system 40 serves both as the objective lens 22 and the image sensor 24 of the measurement optical system 10 (light receiving optical system 10b). The observation optical system 40 may be provided separately from the light receiving optical system 10b of the measurement optical system 10, and may have an image sensor separate from the image sensor 24. The subject (face including the subject's eye) illuminated by the illumination optical system 30 is photographed by the image sensor 24 via the objective lens 22. The photographed image photographed by the image sensor 24 is displayed on the screen of the display 5, which is an example of a display means. The photographed image displayed on the display 5 is used as an observation image for aligning the optometry unit 2 with respect to the subject's eye.

[0034] In this embodiment, the observation optical system 40 also serves as an alignment index detection optical system that detects an index (corneal reflection bright spot) formed on the subject's eye by the alignment index projection optical system. Of course, an alignment index detection optical system may be provided separately from the observation optical system 40.

[0035] <Control system configuration> FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system in the ophthalmic apparatus 1. The control unit 50 controls each part of the ophthalmic apparatus 1. The control unit 50 includes a CPU (processor), RAM, ROM, etc. The display 5, the measurement light source 13, the image sensor 24, and the illumination light source 32 are connected to the control unit 50. The control unit 50 processes the image captured by the image sensor 24. In other words, in this embodiment, the control unit 50 also functions as an image processing unit as a processing means. The control unit 50 also functions as a receiving means for receiving various signals.

[0036] The control unit 50 is also connected to an operation unit 52 and a memory 54, which is an example of a storage means. The operation unit 52 inputs various operation signals by the examiner's operation. The operation unit 52 may be at least one of a mouse, a joystick, a keyboard, a touch panel, and the like. For example, the display 5 may have the function of the operation unit 52 by being a touch panel. For example, the operation unit 52 may include a trigger switch that inputs a measurement start signal. The control unit 50 also functions as a reception unit that receives an operation signal from the operation unit 52. The memory 54 stores measurement results, photographed images of the subject's eye, and the like. In addition, various programs for controlling the operation of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 are stored.

[0037] The control unit 50 outputs the processed image data and the measurement results to the display 5. The control unit 50 also outputs the processed image data and the measurement results to a printer 61 and an external device 63 (for example, a personal computer) connected via the communication unit 56. The image data and the measurement results may be output via wireless communication.

[0038] <Operation> The operation of the device having the above configuration will be described. The examination in the ophthalmologic device 1 of this embodiment is an example of a photorefraction method that objectively measures the ocular refractive power of the subject's eye, and the working distance (examination distance) for the subject's eye is set to 1 m, and the image sensor 24 is examined (measured) in an aligned state that includes both of the subject's eyes.

[0039] When the power switch of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 is turned on, first, a screen for inputting subject information such as the subject's ID and age is displayed on the display 5. The examiner operates the operation unit 52 to input the subject information. Next, when a start button on the operation unit 52 is pressed, the signal is received by the control unit 50, and the display screen of the display 5 is switched to displaying the captured image captured by the imaging element 24. The examiner holds the ophthalmic apparatus 1 in his / her hand and moves the optometry unit 2 so that the subject's face (examined eye) is displayed on the display 5. For example, the subject is positioned sitting on a chair.

[0040] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen of the display 5 in alignment of the optometry unit 2 with respect to the subject's eye. In the photorefraction type eye refractive power measurement of this embodiment, eye refractive power is obtained based on a captured image including both the left and right eyes of the subject. For this reason, alignment of the optometry unit 2 with respect to the subject's eye in the XY directions is performed by aligning the centers of both the left and right eyes of the subject with respect to the optical axis L1. In this embodiment, alignment of the optometry unit 2 with respect to the subject's eye in the Z direction (working distance direction) is performed at a distance of 1 m.

[0041] In Fig. 5, a guide index for aligning the subject's eye is displayed on the screen 210 of the display 5, superimposed on the captured image. In this embodiment, a guide frame GR is displayed as a guide index for aligning the subject's right eye, and a guide frame GL is displayed as a guide index for aligning the subject's left eye. For example, each of the guide frames GR and GL has a rectangular shape. In addition, a guide line GC is displayed at the center of the guide frames GR and GL in the left-right direction as a guide index for aligning the left-right center of both eyes of the subject.

[0042] Furthermore, the image captured by the imaging element 24 shows a bright spot KR of the corneal reflection of the right eye ER and a bright spot KL of the corneal reflection of the left eye EL, which are caused by the illumination optical system 30. The pupils EP around the bright spots KR and KL appear as black areas due to the low amount of reflected light. The examiner can determine the right eye ER and the left eye EL of the subject by checking the bright spots KR and KL and the pupils EP around them. The examiner then moves the optometry unit 2 in the X direction so that the right eye ER and the left eye EL of the subject enter the guide frames GR and GL, respectively, and are positioned evenly on the left and right sides with respect to the guide line GC.

[0043] Moreover, the examiner moves the optometry unit 2 in the Y direction so that the right eye ER and the left eye EL are positioned in the center of the guide frames GR and GL in the up-down direction.

[0044] Further, the alignment state of the face (eye) of the subject relative to the optometry unit 2 in the Z direction is detected by the distance detector 9, and the detection result is displayed on the screen 210. For example, the right column display unit 212 displays an indicator 213 indicating the distance of the optometry unit 2 relative to the subject's eye as a guide indicator for aligning the Z direction. For example, when the optometry unit 2 is closer to the subject's eye side relative to a predetermined working distance, the upper indicator 213a is increased. When the optometry unit 2 is farther from the subject's eye relative to a predetermined working distance, the lower indicator 213b is increased. The examiner moves the optometry unit 2 in the Z direction so that the indicators 213a and 213b decrease and disappear. Note that the guide display on the right column display unit 212 shown in FIG. 9 is merely an example, and various forms are possible for notifying the examiner of the alignment state in the Z direction. For example, an indicator indicating the detection result of the distance detector 9 may be superimposed on the captured image of the subject's face.

[0045] As described above, the examiner moves the optometry unit 2 in the XYZ directions while observing the screen display of the display 5, thereby allowing the alignment of the optometry unit 2 with respect to the subject's eye. The control unit 50 also performs image processing on the captured image acquired by the image sensor 24, and detects the bright points KR and KL of the corneal reflection, thereby determining whether the alignment state in the XY directions is appropriate. For example, first, two bright points appear in the captured image, and it is determined whether or not the bright points are present within the guide frames GR and GL. Next, it is determined whether or not there are black areas (e.g., black areas with a luminance equal to or lower than a predetermined value and extending within a predetermined range based on the bright points) that are regarded as pupils around each bright point. If there are black areas that are regarded as pupils around each bright point, it is determined that the subject's eye has been detected in the captured image. If the black areas around the bright points are regarded as pupils, the pupil diameter is acquired by image processing and used for measurement. Then, the bright points KR and KL of the left and right eyes are determined based on the positional relationship of the two bright points. That is, the bright point within the guide frame GR is determined to be the bright point KR of the right eye ER, and the bright point within the guide frame GL is determined to be the bright point KL of the left eye ELR. Next, the alignment state in the XY direction is determined by determining whether the two bright points KR and KL are within a predetermined allowable range within the guide frames GR and GL, respectively.

[0046] Also, the alignment state in the Z direction is determined based on the Z position (distance in the Z direction) detected by the distance detector 9. Then, if the alignment states in the X, Y and Z directions are each within a predetermined allowable range, it is determined that the alignment is complete.

[0047] When alignment in the XYZ directions is completed, a trigger signal to start measurement is automatically issued by the control unit 50, or the measurement is executed by the examiner operating a measurement execution switch provided on the operation unit 52.

[0048] When the measurement is performed, for example, the light sources 13a1, 13a2, and 13a3 of the measurement light source 13a in the first meridian direction shown in FIG. 3 are sequentially turned on. The measurement light from the measurement light source 13 is irradiated to the subject's eye and enters the pupil, and the reflected light reflected by the fundus is emitted from the pupil and photographed by the image sensor 24. Then, in synchronization with the sequential lighting of the measurement light source 13a, the photographed images photographed by the image sensor 24 are acquired and sequentially stored in the memory 54. Thereafter, similarly, each of the light sources of the measurement light sources 13b to 13h located in the other meridian directions is sequentially turned on, and in synchronization therewith, the photographed images photographed by the image sensor 24 are sequentially stored in the memory 54. When each photographed image is stored, the control unit 50 processes each image to determine the ocular refractive power of the left and right subjects' eyes.

[0049] In FIG. 3, an example has been described in which the eight sets of measurement light sources 13a to 13h are positioned on three concentric circles, namely, a first concentric circle on which light source 13a1 is positioned, a second concentric circle on which light source 13a2 is positioned, and a third concentric circle on which light source 13a3 is positioned, based on the optical axis L1. However, if the measurement takes a long time, the measurement may be performed using a measurement light source on one concentric circle.

[0050] 6 is a diagram for explaining measurement of ocular refractive power by the photorefraction method. In the photorefraction method, ocular refractive power A is calculated by the following formula 1 based on the ratio R (B / 2r) of the pupil diameter 2r to the pupil radius B of the bright crescent K in the pupil.

[0051] R = 1 - {eL / 2r(A+L)} Equation 1

[0052] Here, e is the distance from the end 22a of the objective lens 22 to the measurement light source 13 (in Figure 6, measurement light source 13a1 in the measurement light source 13 is illustrated), and L is the reciprocal of the separation distance (measurement distance) S between the test eye and the objective lens 22 (L = 1 / S).

[0053] As described above, the ocular refractive power for each meridian direction of each light source is obtained, and the ocular refractive powers S (spherical power), C (cylindrical power), and A (cylindrical axis angle) of the left and right examinee's eyes are obtained. When the measurement is completed, the measurement results are displayed on the screen of the display 5. The measurement results of the ocular refractive power can be output to the printer 61 or external device 63 via the communication unit 56 together with the captured image on which the measurement results were calculated. The printer 61 prints the output image in addition to the measurement results.

[0054] Here, the captured image (a captured image of the subject's face captured by the image sensor 24) on which the measurement results are calculated may contain not only the eyes of the measurement target (test target), but also the nose, mouth, ears, eyebrows, facial bones, and the like present on the subject's face, as shown in FIG. 7 (FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a captured image on which the measurement results are calculated). If these are included in the output image, the subject may be easily identified from them, and there is a concern that protection of the subject's privacy may be hindered. In some cases, if the subject is identified, his / her personal information may be misused.

[0055] Therefore, in the ophthalmologic apparatus 1 of the present disclosure, the control unit 50 separates the captured image into an eye region where the eye to be examined is present and an unnecessary region not required for the examination, processes the unnecessary region so that the subject cannot be identified, and the processed image including the eye region is made a stored image. Then, the stored image is output.

[0056] For example, in FIG. 7, the area indicated by a dotted line in the approximate center of the photographed image 250 is the eye area EA in which the eye to be examined is present. For example, the eye area EA is a predetermined area used for alignment. That is, in this embodiment, the eye area EA is an area corresponding to the guide frame GR and guide frame GL for alignment shown in FIG. 5. For example, the eye area EA is a rectangular area (predetermined area) surrounded by the left end of the guide frame GR, the guide frame GL, the upper ends of the guide frames GR and GR, and the lower ends of the guide frames GR and GR. When measuring the subject's eye, the subject's eye is aligned with respect to the optometry unit 2 so that the left and right subject's eyes are contained within the guide frames GR and GL. Therefore, in the photographed image 250 during measurement, the subject's eye is present in the eye area EA in a positional relationship corresponding to the guide frames GR and GL. Then, with respect to the photographed image 250, an area other than the eye area EA (an area outside the eye area EA) is divided into an unnecessary area UnA that is not required for testing the subject's eye.

[0057] For example, in this embodiment, when the eye area EA in the photographed image 250 is partitioned, as shown in FIG. 8 (FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the cutting out of the eye area), the eye area EA is cut out from the photographed image 250 and stored in the memory 54 as a processed image PID. In other words, the processed image PID is stored in the memory 54 as a saved image (archived image). In addition, the unnecessary area UnA outside the eye area EA is discarded (deleted) from the memory 54. The process of cutting out and saving the eye area EA is performed for each photographed image acquired for measurement. Note that, since the eye area EA is set to be a narrow area compared to the area of ​​the photographed image 250, the memory capacity of the memory 54 is saved and the number of images that can be saved can be increased.

[0058] When the examiner wishes to check the condition of the subject's eye at the time of measurement, an image of the eye area EA, which is an example of the processed image PID stored in the memory 54, is output and displayed on the screen of the display 5 by operating a switch on the operation unit 52. By checking the eye in the eye area EA, the examiner can check whether the eye condition at the time of measurement is appropriate, for example, whether the eyelid is covering the pupil, whether the line of sight (eye direction) of the eye is facing forward, etc. The image of the eye area EA can also be used to judge the reliability of the measurement results. If the eye condition at the time of measurement is inappropriate, the examiner takes measures such as re-measurement.

[0059] In addition, the measurement results and the saved image of the eye area EA, which is the processed image PID, are printed out as a report from the printer 61 by pressing the print switch of the operation unit 52. The cut-out image of the eye area EA is attached to the printing paper of the report. This also makes it possible to judge whether the eye condition at the time of measurement is appropriate or not and the reliability of the measurement results. Since the eye area EA has a smaller area size than the photographed image 250, printing space can be saved compared to when the photographed image 250 is printed. Also, if the same printing space as when the photographed image 250 is printed is prepared, the eye area EA is printed enlarged, making it easier to visually check the eye condition at the time of measurement.

[0060] In this way, the processed image PID in which the eye area EA is cut out from the original photographed image acquired during measurement (examination) is output, so that the subject's eye can be confirmed and the subject's identity is difficult to identify. Therefore, even if the output processed image PID is unintentionally used for other purposes, the risk of the subject's privacy being violated can be reduced. In addition, the possibility of the subject's personal information being misused can be reduced.

[0061] In addition, the measurement result and the saved image of the eye area EA, which is the processed image PID, are output to the external device 63 via the communication unit 56 by operating the data transfer switch of the operation unit 52. In this case, similarly to the above, the processed image PID in which the eye area EA is cut out is output from the original photographed image, so that the subject's eye can be confirmed and the subject's identity is difficult to identify. This reduces the risk that the privacy of the subject will be hindered. In addition, it reduces the possibility that the subject's personal information will be misused.

[0062] <Example of transformation> Although typical embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown here, and various modifications are possible.

[0063] For example, in the above, an example was described in which a first process was performed to cut out the eye area EA as a processed image PID (a processed image including the eye area EA and processed to make the subject's individual unidentifiable for the unnecessary area UnA), but this is not limited to this. For example, a second process that makes the subject's unique features visually unidentifiable may be performed for the unnecessary area UnA, thereby obtaining a processed image PID including the eye area EA, and outputting this.

[0064] FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the second processing for the unnecessary region UnA (processing for making the subject's unique features visually unidentifiable). For example, the second processing is typically processing for making the unnecessary region UnA a single color or multiple colors, such as blacking out the unnecessary region UnA. The processing for changing the luminance gradation can be easily performed in the same manner as the cut-out processing of the eye region EA, without providing the control unit 50 with a special processing function. Other examples of the second processing may include mosaic processing, blurring processing, color patterning processing, superimposing other images, replacing with other images (for example, a model face image), and the like. In other words, these second processings can be said to be processing for worsening the image quality of the unnecessary region UnA with respect to the original photographed image 250.

[0065] It should be noted that the second process (processing to make the subject's unique features visually unidentifiable) does not have to be performed on the entire unnecessary area UnA, but may be applied partially to at least those parts of the subject that can identify the individual (e.g., the nose, ears, mouth, eyebrows, facial structure).

[0066] In addition, with regard to the division of the eye area EA, an example has been described in which the eye area EA is set in advance in a predetermined area used for alignment between the subject's eye and the ophthalmic device 1 (eye examination unit 2), but this is not limiting. For example, the eye area EA may be set based on an eye detected by image processing of a captured image. For example, as shown in FIG. 10 (FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the setting of the eye area EA based on a detected eye), the eye area EA of the right eye ER may be divided into an elliptical shape having a predetermined size based on the center of the bright spot KR or pupil EP detected by image processing, and the eye area EA of the left eye EL may also be divided into an elliptical shape having a predetermined size based on the center of the bright spot KL or pupil EP detected by image processing. The size of the elliptical shape of the eye area EA may be set to include at least the pupil EP and not to include characteristic parts unique to the subject, such as the subject's nose, ears, mouth, eyebrows, etc. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a processed image PID in which the eye area EA having the elliptical shape of FIG. 10 is cut out from the captured image 250. This also makes it possible to check the subject's eyes while making it difficult to identify the subject.

[0067] In the above, the ophthalmic device is described as a handheld ophthalmic device, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the ophthalmic device may be a stationary type that is installed on a table. In this case, during alignment, the ophthalmic examination unit 2 is moved or guided so that the bright points KR and KL of the left and right eyes on the captured image captured by the image sensor 24 are located at predetermined positions.

[0068] In addition, the examination optical system for examining (including measuring) the subject's eye may be one for examining one eye. In this case, as exemplified in JP2022-80459A, in an ophthalmic apparatus having an imaging optical system for obtaining a magnified image of the anterior eye of one eye, the image sensor 24 for photographing the subject may be a face photographing unit provided separately from the optical system for obtaining a magnified image of the anterior eye. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 1 Ophthalmology equipment 2. Optometry Department 5. Display 10 Measurement optical system 10a Light projection optical system 10b Receiving optical system 24 Image sensor 40 Observation Optical System 50 Control section 54 Memory 61 Printer

Claims

1. An ophthalmic device used for examining the eye of a subject, Image acquisition means for acquiring a captured image of the subject's face, including the eye being examined, A processing means is provided, The ophthalmic apparatus is characterized by the processing means that, with respect to the captured image, separates the eye region in which the eye to be examined is located from the unnecessary region which is not necessary for the examination, and processes the unnecessary region so that the individual subject cannot be identified, thereby obtaining and outputting a processed image that includes the eye region.

2. In the ophthalmic device according to claim 1, The ophthalmic apparatus is characterized in that the processing means obtains a processed image including the eye region by performing either a first process of cutting out the eye region from the captured image, or a second process of making the subject's unique characteristics indistinguishable from the unnecessary region.

3. In the ophthalmic device according to claim 1, The ophthalmic apparatus is characterized in that the processing means obtains a processed image by performing a process to cut out the eye region from the captured image, and discards the image data of the unnecessary region.

4. In the ophthalmic device of claim 2, The ophthalmic apparatus is characterized in that, as the processing means, it performs a second process on the unwanted region, which includes at least one of the following processes: a process to change the brightness gradation of the image to a single color or multiple colors, a mosaic process, a blurring process, a process to add a color pattern, a process to overlay another image, or a process to replace it with another image.

5. In any ophthalmic device according to claim 1 to 4, The ophthalmic device is characterized in that the ophthalmic region is either pre-set in a predetermined region used for alignment between the eye under examination and the ophthalmic device, or set based on the eye detected by image processing of the captured image.

6. An ophthalmic device processing program executed in an ophthalmic device used for examining an eye, which is executed by a control unit, The image acquisition step involves acquiring an image of the subject's face, including the eye being examined, and The processing step involves obtaining and outputting a processed image that includes the eye region, which is the eye region containing the eye to be examined, and an unnecessary region that is not necessary for the examination, and that is processed so that the subject cannot be identified from the unnecessary region. An ophthalmic device control program characterized by causing the ophthalmic device to execute the above.

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