Control method of ophthalmologic device and ophthalmologic device

Abstract

To provide a control method of an ophthalmologic device allowing an operator to easily observe a subject's eye, and the ophthalmologic device.SOLUTION: An ophthalmologic device includes a robot arm and a microscope provided on the robot arm, where a front lens is attached to an objective lens side of a head part of the microscope. A control method of the ophthalmologic device includes: moving steps (S11 and S12) of moving the head part to a position in front of the subject's eye in response to an operation instruction of the robot arm; a reference position obtaining step (S13) of obtaining a reference position of the subject's eye; and a turning step (S14) of arcuately moving the head part while keeping the head part away from the reference position by a certain length in response to an operation instruction of the robot arm.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control method for an ophthalmic apparatus and an ophthalmic apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, ophthalmic devices (microscope devices) used in ophthalmic surgery have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an ophthalmic device (surgical microscope system) that includes an arm with a rotatable joint, a microscope optical system, and a camera that captures a surgical field image that is a microscopic magnified image of the microscope optical system. In this ophthalmic device, the examiner can move the position of the microscope by operating the arm. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-3201 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when observing the periphery of a specific part of the subject's eye, it is not easy to change the observation area or observation direction while keeping the focus on the observed area with a conventional ophthalmic device such as that of Patent Document 1. Therefore, in order to observe a wide area of ​​the fundus of the subject's eye, it is necessary to take time and effort to observe with a narrow observation field (enlarged field), or to observe with a wide observation field (reduced field), which makes it difficult to observe the subject's eye with high accuracy and efficiency.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an ophthalmic apparatus and a control method thereof that facilitates observation of a subject's eye. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The control method for an ophthalmic apparatus according to the present disclosure is a control method for an ophthalmic apparatus comprising a robot arm and a microscope provided on the robot arm, with a front lens attached to the objective lens side of a head unit of the microscope, the control method for an ophthalmic apparatus including: a moving step of moving the head unit to a position in front of a subject's eye in response to an operation instruction of the robot arm; a reference position acquisition step of acquiring a reference position of the subject's eye; and a rotating step of moving the head unit in an arc while keeping it away from the reference position by a certain distance in response to an operation instruction of the robot arm.

[0007] The ophthalmic apparatus of the present disclosure comprises a robotic arm, a microscope provided on the robotic arm, and a control unit, and is a control method for an ophthalmic apparatus attached to the objective lens side of a head unit of the microscope, wherein the control unit receives an operation instruction for the robotic arm, moves the head unit to a position in front of the test eye, obtains a reference position of the test eye, and receives an operation instruction for the robotic arm, moves the head unit in an arc while keeping it a certain distance away from the reference position. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The control method for an ophthalmic apparatus and the ophthalmic apparatus according to the present disclosure using the above-mentioned means can facilitate observation of the subject's eye. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall view of an ophthalmic apparatus. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an optical system of an ophthalmic apparatus. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ophthalmic apparatus. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart of control of the ophthalmic apparatus. [Diagram 5] 2 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the optical axis of the observation optical system and a reference position P. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is an overall view of an ophthalmic device 1. The ophthalmic device 1 of this embodiment is a microscope device for ophthalmology. The ophthalmic device 1 includes a leg 3, a support 4, a robot arm 5 (a first arm 51, a second arm 52, a third arm 53, a connection part 54, and a fourth arm 55), and a microscope 6 provided on the robot arm 5.

[0011] The leg 3 has casters and can be moved to any position. The support pillar 4 is supported in a substantially vertical direction on the leg 3. The first arm 51 is connected to the support pillar 4 so as to be rotatable around an axis. The second arm 52 is rotatably connected to the first arm 51, the third arm 53 is rotatably connected to the second arm 52, the connection part 54 is rotatably connected to the third arm 53, and the fourth arm 55 is rotatably connected to the connection part 54. Although shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1, the rotation axes provided at two locations on both ends of the second arm 52 and the third arm 53 are each arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the arm. 、 The rotation axis between the support 4 and the first arm 51 is disposed on the axis of the first arm 51, and the rotation axis between the connection part 54 and the fourth arm 55 is disposed on the axis of the fourth arm 55. The ophthalmic apparatus 1 can control the horizontal position and height position of the microscope 6 by driving the robot arm 5. The ophthalmic apparatus 1 can control the overall position of the microscope 6 by the legs 3, the support 4, and the robot arm 5 (first arm 51, second arm 52, third arm 53, connection part 54, fourth arm 55).

[0012] The microscope 6 has an XY fine movement device 61, a support arm 62, a head unit 63, and a display unit 64. The XY fine movement device 61 is provided between the fourth arm 55 and the head unit 63, and can finely adjust the position of the head unit 63 in a planar direction. The support arm 62 is connected to the XY fine movement device 61 so as to be able to move relatively thereto, and supports the head unit 63 on the side opposite to the XY fine movement device 61.

[0013] The head unit 63 has an observation camera 631, a lens barrel unit 632, an internal optical system 100, and a position adjustment mechanism 634. The observation camera 631 has a function of imaging the subject's eye E in the microscope 6.

[0014] The display unit 64 is a monitor that displays an image obtained by an observation optical system 400, which will be described later with reference to Fig. 2. The display unit 64 of this embodiment is a stationary device independent of the head unit 63. The display unit 64 may display information about the subject's eye E or observation conditions, etc., superimposed on the observation image.

[0015] A position adjustment mechanism 634 for the front lens 18 is attached to the lens barrel 632. The position adjustment mechanism 634 has a holding arm 17 extending toward the subject's eye E. The holding arm 17 has a form in which a plurality of straight rod-shaped arms are connected at different angles. The front lens 18 is attached to the tip of the holding arm 17 on the side of the objective lens 2 of the microscope 6. The holding arm 17 of this embodiment is formed so that the optical axis of the front lens 18 and the axis of the base end side of the holding arm 17 are parallel to each other. The position adjustment mechanism 634 can move the holding arm 17 in the vertical direction relative to the lens barrel 632. The position adjustment mechanism 634 can appropriately change the distance between the front lens 18 and the subject's eye E by moving the holding arm 17 in the vertical direction. The position adjustment mechanism 634 also has a function of inserting and removing the front lens 18 with respect to the optical axis of the objective lens 2. The position adjustment mechanism 634 can move the front lens 18 by folding the holding arm 17 using hinges provided at the base end and middle part of the holding arm 17. The position control of the microscope 6 and the position control of the front lens 18 can be performed by operating a foot switch 19 (input unit) installed at the examiner's feet.

[0016] The foot switch 19 includes a plurality of switches such as a rotation instruction switch. The foot switch 19 mainly includes a lighting switch and a position adjustment switch. The lighting switch includes, for example, a lighting light amount adjustment switch, a movable lighting aperture switch, a lighting on / off switch, and a lighting angle changeover switch. The position adjustment switch includes, for example, a vertical coarse movement switch, a front lens fine movement switch, an XY fine movement lever switch, a focus up / down switch, a magnification adjustment switch, a position initialization switch, and a rotation operation switch. The foot switch 19 of this embodiment is mainly composed of a push button switch or a lever switch. Therefore, even when the examiner observes the subject's eye E while working with both hands, the examiner can easily operate the robot arm 5.

[0017] The foot switch 19 of this embodiment has, for example, a changeover switch 191 located at the back right as seen from the examiner, a joystick 192 (lever switch), and a start switch 193 (rotation switch). When the examiner presses the changeover switch 191, the control unit 110 can switch the observation mode to an "OCT mode" (OCT; Optical Coherence Tomography) or a "peripheral observation mode". The joystick 192 accepts input instructions from the examiner by tilting it left and right and up and down. In the peripheral observation mode, when the control unit 110 accepts an input instruction of up and down by the joystick 192, it can select and set a rotation angle. In the initial state, a commonly used angle is set in advance. The control unit 110 stores the set rotation angle in the storage unit 120.

[0018] The start switch 193 is an input unit for instructing the start of a rotation operation. When the start switch 193 is pressed, the control unit 110 controls the robot arm 5 to start the rotation operation of the head unit 63 at a set rotation angle. Alternatively, the control unit 110 may control the head unit 63 in response to an input instruction operation of the joystick 192. 63 When an input instruction is received from the joystick 192, the control unit 110 transmits the current position information to the head unit 110.63 The position information is stored in the memory unit 120, and the head unit 120 can be moved even if the head unit 120 is tilted up, down, left, or right. 63 (or microscope 6 The head unit automatically adjusts the height so that the distance between the head unit and the examiner is constant. 63 The inclination angle of the can be changed.

[0019] 2 is an internal configuration diagram that diagrammatically illustrates the internal optical system 100 of the ophthalmic apparatus 1. The optical system of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 has an objective lens 2, an illumination optical system 300, and an observation optical system 400. The objective lens 2, the illumination optical system 300, and the observation optical system 400 are housed in a microscope 6. The objective lens 2 is a circular biconvex lens.

[0020] The illumination optical system 300 illuminates the subject's eye E via the objective lens 2. The illumination optical system 300 includes an illumination light source 7, an optical fiber 301, an exit aperture 302, a condenser lens 303, an illumination field aperture 304, a collimator lens 305, and a reflecting mirror 306. An optical axis O-300 of the illumination optical system 300 is indicated by a dashed line in FIG.

[0021] The illumination light source 7 is provided outside the microscope 6. One end of an optical fiber 301 is connected to the illumination light source 7. Meanwhile, the other end of the optical fiber 301 is disposed on the optical axis of a condenser lens 303 inside the microscope 6. Illumination light output from the illumination light source 7 is guided by the optical fiber 301 and enters the condenser lens 303.

[0022] An exit aperture 302 is provided at a position facing the exit of the optical fiber 301 (the fiber end on the condenser lens 303 side). The exit aperture 302 acts to block a partial area of ​​the exit of the optical fiber 301. When the blocked area is changed by the exit aperture 302, the exit area of ​​the illumination light is changed. Therefore, the exit aperture 302 can change the irradiation angle of the illumination light, that is, the angle between the incident direction of the illumination light with respect to the subject's eye E and the optical axis (O-400) of the objective lens 2.

[0023] The illumination field stop 304 is provided at a position optically conjugate with the front focal position U0 of the objective lens 2. The collimating lens 305 converts the illumination light that has passed through the illumination field stop 304 into a parallel beam. The reflecting mirror 306 reflects the illumination light that has been converted into a parallel beam by the collimating lens 305 toward the objective lens 2. The illumination light reflected by the reflecting mirror 306 passes through the objective lens 2 and is irradiated onto the subject's eye E. The illumination light (or a part of the illumination light) irradiated onto the subject's eye E is reflected and scattered by tissues of the subject's eye E, such as the cornea and retina. The reflected and scattered return light (also called "observation light") passes through the objective lens 2 and enters the observation optical system 400.

[0024] The observation optical system 400 includes a variable magnification lens system 401, a relay lens unit 402, and an observation camera 631. In Fig. 2, an optical axis O-400 of the observation optical system 400 is indicated by a two-dot chain line. The observation optical system 400 is used to observe the subject's eye E illuminated by the illumination optical system 300, via the objective lens 2. The observation light guided by the variable magnification lens system 401 and the relay lens unit 402 is imaged by an image sensor 631a of the observation camera 631.

[0025] When observing the retina at the fundus of the subject's eye E, the front lens 18 is inserted onto the optical axis O-300, O-400 in front of the subject's eye E by the position adjustment mechanism 634. In this case, the front focal position U0 of the objective lens 2 is conjugate with the retina at the fundus. On the other hand, when observing the anterior part of the eye such as the cornea and iris, the front lens 18 is detached from in front of the subject's eye E and observation is performed.

[0026] 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. The ophthalmic apparatus 1 includes a control unit 110, a foot switch 19, a display unit 64, and a storage unit 120. The ophthalmic apparatus 1 may include an input device other than the foot switch 19 as an input unit. For example, the input unit of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 may be a touch panel or a physical switch that can be operated by the examiner (surgeon or assistant, etc.) by hand.

[0027] Each component of the control unit 110 is a functional component realized by cooperation of software and hardware. The control unit 110 may be an information processing device independent of the ophthalmic apparatus 1, or may be mounted in a CCU (camera control unit) of the ophthalmic apparatus 1. The control unit 110 may be communicably connected to the ophthalmic apparatus 1 via a network.

[0028] Furthermore, the control unit 110 executes functions and / or methods realized by codes or instructions included in the program 123 stored in the storage unit 120. For example, the control unit 110 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a micro-processing unit (MPU), a GPU, a microcontroller unit (MCU), a processor core, a multiprocessor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or the like, and each process disclosed in each embodiment may be realized by a logic circuit or a dedicated circuit formed in an integrated circuit, or the like. Furthermore, these circuits may be realized by one or more integrated circuits, and multiple processes shown in each embodiment may be realized by one integrated circuit.

[0029] The storage unit 120 has a function of storing various programs and various data required, such as a control program for the ophthalmologic apparatus 1. It is also capable of storing acquired information, such as measured signals. The storage unit 120 is realized by various storage media, such as an HDD, an SSD, or a flash memory.

[0030] The storage unit 120 stores reference position information 121, initial position information 122, and various programs 123. The reference position information 121 is acquired in step S11 described later. The reference position information 121 is information representing a spatial position expressed in, for example, a Cartesian coordinate system, a polar coordinate system, or other expression format.

[0031] Next, each step of the control method of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 will be described. Fig. 4 is a flow chart of the control of the ophthalmic apparatus 1. In this embodiment, the steps will be described assuming that an operator performs ophthalmic surgery while observing the subject's eye E using the ophthalmic apparatus 1. First, in the preparation stage in which the subject is placed on the operating table, the ophthalmic apparatus 1 uses the robot arm 5 to retract the microscope 6 from above the operating table (specifically, the location where the subject's head is scheduled to be placed) to a standby position.

[0032] First, the control unit 110 executes a moving process (steps S11 and S12). The moving process is executed after the subject moves to the operating table. In the moving process, the control unit 110 moves the microscope 6 to a position substantially above the subject's head in response to an operation command for the robot arm 5 input by the examiner from an input unit such as the foot switch 19.

[0033] The movement process of this embodiment includes a first movement process (S11, coarse movement and face position recognition process) and a second movement process (S12, subject's eye approach process). In the first movement process of step S11, the control unit 110 moves the head unit 63 to the vicinity of the subject's face based on position information (initial position information 122 of coarse movement) previously stored in the robot arm 5. As a result, the head unit 63 moves to a position in front of the subject's eye E. The position of the operating table and the positional relationship of the microscope 6 with respect to the operating table are usually determined in advance. Therefore, when the control unit 110 receives a movement instruction via the foot switch 19, it refers to the memory unit 120 to read the initial position information 122 and moves the head unit 63 (i.e., the microscope 6) to a preset position.

[0034] In addition, if the appropriate position of the microscope 6 with respect to the subject's eye E differs between the temporal incision and the cranial incision, the initial position information 122 may be stored corresponding to each of the temporal incision and the cranial incision, and the examiner may be allowed to select and instruct the position.

[0035] After moving the microscope 6, the control unit 110 631The subject's face is detected by the microscope 21. The control unit 110 stores the detected positions of the subject's face and the subject's eye E in the storage unit 120. The control unit 110 may automatically set the magnification of the microscope 6 to a preset initial value or the like so as to make it easier to detect the subject's face.

[0036] In the second movement process of step S12, the control unit 110 631 The control unit 110 recognizes the position of the subject's face by the above and moves the front lens 18 closer to the subject's face. The control unit 110 receives an input instruction for one of the subject's left and right eyes E via the foot switch 19 and moves the microscope 6.

[0037] Next, surgery is performed on the subject's eye E. For example, if the surgery is for cataracts, surgery on the anterior segment is performed first without using the front lens 18. Note that the position of the front lens 18 is not moved during surgery, so it is omitted from the flowchart in FIG. 4. After the surgery on the anterior segment is completed, surgery on the fundus is performed. At this time, the examiner moves the front lens 18 onto the optical axes O-300, O-400 by manual or automatic operation. After the surgery is completed, the surgeon (examiner) performs peripheral observation of the surgical site in steps S13 and S14. Note that the peripheral observation in steps S13 and S14 is performed with the front lens 18 positioned on the optical axes O-300, O-400 or retracted. For example, when observing the periphery of the fundus, the front lens 18 is placed on the optical axis O-300, O-400, and when observing the periphery of the anterior eye, the front lens 18 is moved away from the optical axis O-300, O-400. In this embodiment, a case where peripheral observation is performed with the front lens 18 placed on the optical axis O-300, O-400 will be described.

[0038] In step S13, the control unit 110 executes a reference position acquisition step of acquiring the reference position P of the subject's eye E. The control unit 110 stores position information of the microscope 6 and the front lens 18 during surgery on the subject's eye E, and acquires the reference position P. The control unit 110 stores the acquired reference position P in the memory unit 120 as reference position information 121. The reference position P is, for example, the corneal apex or the position of a point (for example, a perpendicular point) where a perpendicular line drawn from the corneal apex to the fundus intersects with the fundus. The reference position P may also be set to any position from the corneal apex to the fundus.

[0039] As a method for setting the reference position P, the control unit 110 can determine the focused position of the subject's eye E as the position on the optical axis of the reference position P (depth position) and the horizontal position of the reference position P. The control unit 110 may also set the reference position P based on a selection instruction (examiner's cursor designation within the observation field, direct input of coordinates, etc.) to the display unit 64 or an input unit (foot switch 19, etc.).

[0040] In step S14, the control unit 110 executes a rotation process. The rotation process is performed, for example, when checking for abnormalities around the surgical site after surgery on the subject's eye E. By rotating the head unit 63 of the ophthalmologic apparatus 1, the examiner can tilt the observation angle to check for abnormalities slightly ahead of the surgical site, or check for abnormalities over the entire fundus.

[0041] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the optical axis O-400 and the reference position P in the above-mentioned turning process. In the example of FIG. 5, the reference position P is set near the central fovea of ​​the fundus and at the position of the intersection point from the corneal apex to the fundus. In the turning process of step S14, the control unit 110 executes a turning operation in which the front lens 18 is moved a certain distance L from the reference position P and moves the optical axis O-400 toward the reference position P in a substantially arc shape in a plan view, in response to an operation instruction of the examiner via the foot switch 19. The turning operation is instructed by pressing the start switch 193 of the foot switch 19. The front lens 18 turns around the turning axis Q. In the example of FIG. 5, the turning axis Q coincides with the vertical axis with respect to the eye E (the axis vertically descending from the corneal apex to the fundus).

[0042] The control unit 110 may perform control so that, when the start switch 193 is pressed once, a continuous operation is performed as a rotation operation. For example, the control unit 110 can perform control so that the head unit 63 rotates only while the start switch 193 is pressed and held, the rotation operation of the head unit 63 stops when the start switch 193 is released, and the rotation operation is resumed (continued) when the start switch 193 is pressed again. The ophthalmologic apparatus 1 may also be configured to include, as an input unit, a sound pickup unit that accepts voice input, and to recognize a voice instruction from the examiner and perform a rotation operation.

[0043] The rotation operation may be an operation of rotating the object around the rotation axis Q by one or more revolutions as viewed in the direction of the rotation axis Q (upper view of FIG. 5), or an operation of rotating the object in an arc shape by less than one revolution. The examiner may input the rotation angle and the rotation direction via the foot switch 19.

[0044] In addition, the holding arm 17 supporting the front lens 18 is always positioned farther from the examiner (e.g., surgeon) with respect to the rotation axis Q during the rotation operation. This allows the surgeon to continue the surgery without moving during the rotation. In addition, since the holding arm 17 is always positioned farther from the examiner (e.g., surgeon) with respect to the rotation axis Q during the rotation operation, the ophthalmic apparatus 1 can always display the surgeon's hand on the left and right of the monitor (display unit 64) even when rotating by 90 degrees. Furthermore, the ophthalmic apparatus 1 can prevent the holding arm 17 from colliding with the examiner's hand, etc., during the rotation operation of the ophthalmic apparatus 1.

[0045] Furthermore, the control unit 110 moves the front lens 18 while tilting it with respect to a rotation axis Q (e.g., a vertical rotation axis Q) that passes through the reference position P. The tilt angle is set to any angle between 10 degrees and 45 degrees, for example. By tilting and rotating the front lens 18 with respect to the rotation axis Q, it is possible to observe a wide area around the reference position P of the subject's eye E even if conditions such as the type of the front lens 18, the shape of the examiner's face, or the shape of the subject's eye E are different.

[0046] During the turning operation, the observation image of the subject's eye E is displayed in real time on the display unit 64. This allows the examiner to observe the subject's eye E without using the eyepiece. In addition, the observation image of the subject's eye E can be viewed by multiple people via the display unit 64.

[0047] In the above example, since the reference position P is set near the fovea, the examiner can widely observe the fundus by a simple operation of the turning process.

[0048] In the above, in this embodiment, the ophthalmic device 1 including the robot arm 5 and the microscope 6 provided on the robot arm 5, and the front lens 18 attached to the objective lens 2 side of the head unit 63 of the microscope 6, and the control method of the ophthalmic device 1 have been described. The control method of the ophthalmic device 1 includes a moving step (S11, S12) of moving the head unit 63 to a position in front of the subject's eye E by an operation instruction of the robot arm 5, a reference position acquisition step (S13) of acquiring a reference position P of the subject's eye E, and a turning step (S14) of moving the head unit 63 in an arc while keeping a certain distance from the reference position P by an operation instruction of the robot arm 5. The ophthalmic device 1 can move the optical axis of the observation optical system to different angles and directions around the set reference position P, so that the examiner can easily observe the subject's eye E.

[0049] In addition, the ophthalmic apparatus 1 and the control method for the ophthalmic apparatus 1 of this embodiment enable observation of the subject eye E from all angles, making it possible to observe the entire observation area, such as the fundus, thereby making it possible to prevent diseased areas from being overlooked or to detect them early, and to inform the patient that there is no disease in the entire fundus as a result of the observation.

[0050] Furthermore, by setting the reference position P at the corneal apex or the intersection with the fundus when the corneal apex is lowered to the fundus, it is possible to perform area observation by the rotation operation at any depth position of the subject's eye E. Furthermore, when the reference position P is set at any position from the corneal apex to the fundus, the rotation axis Q of the rotation operation can be made to substantially coincide with the optical axis of the subject's eye E, so that it is possible to prevent the illumination light from being unintentionally reflected and impeding the observation of the subject's eye E.

[0051] In addition, during the rotation process, the ophthalmologic device 1 is configured to move the front lens 18 upon receiving a rotation instruction from the start switch 193, so that the examiner can easily observe the area around the reference position P with a simple operation.

[0052] This completes the description of the embodiment of the present disclosure, but the aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to this embodiment.

[0053] For example, in step S11, the control method for moving the head unit 63 to the vicinity of the subject's face based on the initial position information 122 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The ophthalmic apparatus 1 may include a thermographic camera capable of detecting a wide range in the microscope 6, and the control unit 110 may control the microscope 6 to recognize the position of the subject's face and move the head unit 63 closer to the face. The thermographic camera may be provided, for example, above the microscope 6 (on the far side as viewed from the subject's eye E) and configured to receive light dispersed by a beam splitter provided in the optical path of the observation system.

[0054] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, step S12 is automatically processed by the control unit 110. However, the examiner may manually change the position of the head lens 18.

[0055] In addition, in the present embodiment, the holding arm 17 supporting the front lens 18 is always positioned farther from the examiner (e.g., the surgeon) with respect to the rotation axis Q during the rotation operation, but in a process in which the examiner does not perform treatment or the like on the subject's eye E (e.g., a process in which only observation is performed), the holding arm 17 may be moved toward the examiner by the rotation operation. This can alleviate restrictions on the rotation operation, such as the rotation angle range.

[0056] Furthermore, the robot arm 5 may include three or more arms, and the rotatable directions at the connection parts of the arms may be configured in a manner other than that shown in this embodiment.

[0057] Furthermore, the control unit 110 may control the head unit 63 so that the optical axis O-400 stops at a position where it has an arbitrary tilt angle and rotation angle with respect to the rotation axis Q. The tilt angle and rotation angle at this time may be determined by the examiner via an input operation of the foot switch 19 or the like, or may be set in advance by storing one or a plurality of conditions in the storage unit 120. In this way, when some disease actually exists, the examiner can move the head unit 63 at an tilt angle and rotation angle arbitrarily selected to perform surgery.

[0058] Furthermore, in the rotation process, the part that maintains a constant distance (L) is not limited to the distance between the reference position P and the front lens 18, but may be the distance between the reference position P and the objective lens 2, or the distance between the reference position P and another part (component).

[0059] Furthermore, the microscope 6 of the present embodiment may be configured to include an eyepiece through which the examiner can observe the subject's eye E. The microscope 6 may include one eyepiece (for the surgeon) or multiple eyepieces (for the surgeon and assistant).

[0060] Furthermore, in this embodiment, an example has been described in which the XY fine movement device 61 finely adjusts the position of the head unit 63 in the planar direction, but the configuration may be such that the XY fine movement device 61 is omitted and fine movement control in the X and Y directions is performed by the robot arm 5. For fine movement control, for example, a switch for changing between coarse movement and fine movement is provided on the foot switch 19, and by pressing this switch, the distance (amount of movement) moved when a lever switch (for example, joystick 192) is tilted may be changed.

[0061] The configuration of the present disclosure is exemplified as follows. [1] A method for controlling an ophthalmic apparatus including a robot arm and a microscope attached to the robot arm, the microscope having a head portion with a front lens attached to an objective lens side thereof, the method comprising the steps of: a moving step of moving the head unit to a position in front of the subject's eye by an operation instruction of the robot arm; a reference position acquiring step of acquiring a reference position of the subject's eye; a rotating step of moving the head unit in an arc while keeping the head unit at a constant distance from the reference position in response to an operation instruction of the robot arm; A method for controlling an ophthalmic apparatus comprising: [2] The method for controlling an ophthalmic apparatus according to [1], wherein, in the rotating step, the head unit is moved at an angle relative to a rotation axis passing through the reference position. [3] The control method for an ophthalmic device according to [1], wherein the reference position is the corneal apex or the position of the intersection between the corneal apex and the fundus when projected from the corneal apex down to the fundus. [4] The ophthalmologic apparatus includes an observation camera, The moving step includes: a first moving step of moving the head unit to the vicinity of a face of a subject based on position information prestored in the robot arm; a second moving step of recognizing the position of the subject's face by the observation camera and moving the head unit closer to the subject's face, A method for controlling an ophthalmic apparatus according to [1]. [5] The ophthalmic apparatus includes a foot switch including a rotation instruction switch, The turning step includes moving the head unit when a turning instruction is received by the turning instruction switch. A method for controlling an ophthalmic apparatus according to [1]. [6] the ophthalmologic apparatus includes an observation camera and a foot switch including a rotation instruction switch; The reference position is either the corneal apex or a position from the corneal apex to a point of intersection with the fundus, the moving step includes a first moving step of moving the head unit to the vicinity of a face of a subject based on position information prestored in the robot arm, and a second moving step of recognizing the position of the face of the subject by the observation camera and moving the head unit even closer to the face of the subject, The turning step includes moving the head unit when a turning instruction is received by the turning instruction switch. A method for controlling an ophthalmic apparatus according to [2]. [7] An ophthalmologic apparatus comprising: a robot arm; a microscope provided on the robot arm; and a control unit, the microscope having a front lens attached to a side of an objective lens of a head unit of the microscope, The control unit is receiving an operation instruction for the robot arm, and moving the head unit to a position in front of the subject's eye; acquiring a reference position of the subject's eye; receiving an operation instruction of the robot arm, and moving the head unit in an arc while keeping the head unit away from the reference position by a fixed distance; Ophthalmology equipment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 1 Ophthalmology equipment 2 Objective Lenses 3 legs 4 pillars 5. Robot Arm 6. Microscope 7 Light source 17 Holding Arm 18 Front lens 19 Foot Switch 20 Display section 51 First Arm 52 Second Arm 53 Third Arm 54 Connection 55 Fourth Arm 61 XY fine movement device 62 Support Arm 63 Head 64 Display section 100 Internal optics 110 Control section 120 Storage section 121 Reference position information 122 Initial location information 123 Programs 191 Turn indicator switch 192 Joystick 193 Start Switch 300 Illumination optical system 301 Optical Fiber 302 Exit aperture 303 Condenser Lens 304 Lighting Field Aperture 305 Collimating Lens 306 Reflective Mirror 400 Observation Optical System 401 Variable Magnification Lens System 402 Relay lens unit 631 Kancha Yongカメラ 631a capture pixels 632 Lens tube 634 Position adjustment mechanism E quilt eyes L distance O-300 Optical Axis O-400 Optical Axis P Reference position Q Swivel axis U0 Front focus position

Claims

1. A method for controlling an ophthalmic apparatus including a robot arm and a microscope attached to the robot arm, the microscope having a head portion with a front lens attached to an objective lens side thereof, the method comprising the steps of: a moving step of moving the head unit to a position in front of the subject's eye by an operation instruction of the robot arm; a reference position acquiring step of acquiring a reference position of the subject's eye; a rotating step of moving the head unit in an arc while keeping the head unit at a constant distance from the reference position in response to an operation instruction of the robot arm; A method for controlling an ophthalmic apparatus comprising:

2. The method for controlling an ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein in the rotating step, the head unit is moved while being inclined with respect to a rotation axis passing through the reference position.

3. The method for controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the reference position is the corneal apex or a position of an intersection between the corneal apex and the fundus when the corneal apex is lowered to the fundus.

4. The ophthalmologic apparatus includes an observation camera, The moving step includes: a first moving step of moving the head unit to the vicinity of a face of a subject based on position information prestored in the robot arm; a second moving step of recognizing the position of the subject's face by the observation camera and moving the head unit closer to the subject's face, The method for controlling an ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1 .

5. The ophthalmic apparatus includes a foot switch including a rotation instruction switch, The turning step includes moving the head unit when a turning instruction is received by the turning instruction switch. The method for controlling an ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1 .

6. the ophthalmologic apparatus includes an observation camera and a foot switch including a rotation instruction switch; The reference position is the corneal apex or the intersection point between the corneal apex and the fundus, the moving step includes a first moving step of moving the head unit to the vicinity of a face of a subject based on position information prestored in the robot arm, and a second moving step of recognizing the position of the face of the subject by the observation camera and moving the head unit even closer to the face of the subject, The turning step includes moving the head unit when a turning instruction is received by the turning instruction switch. The method for controlling an ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 2 .

7. An ophthalmologic apparatus comprising: a robot arm; a microscope provided on the robot arm; and a control unit, the microscope having a head portion on a side of an objective lens, the head portion having a front lens attached thereto, The control unit is receiving an operation instruction for the robot arm, and moving the head unit to a position in front of the subject's eye; acquiring a reference position of the subject's eye; receiving an operation instruction of the robot arm, and moving the head unit in an arc while keeping the head unit away from the reference position by a fixed distance; Ophthalmology equipment.

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