Ophthalmic Apparatus Dynamic Boundary Line Shading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ophthalmic apparatuses face difficulties in accurately determining the position of the cell wall of endothelial cells within corneal endothelial images due to varying brightness, making it hard to distinguish the boundary line from the cell wall, which affects the accuracy and ease of analysis.
Innovation Solution
An ophthalmic apparatus with an image pickup unit, control unit, and display unit that allows for non-contact photography and image processing of corneal endothelium, where the control unit detects and hatches the cell wall with a boundary line, and the display unit, acting as a touch panel, changes the shading of the boundary line based on user input, enabling easier alignment and editing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the boundary line is displayed in the corneal endothelial image to indicate cell wall position, then the cell wall position can be identified, but the boundary line becomes hard to see depending on the brightness of the image
Solution Approach 1:
The boundary line's display state is made dynamic rather than static. The control unit switches between displaying and non-displaying the boundary line based on examiner input, allowing the boundary line to adapt its visibility according to the brightness conditions of the corneal endothelial image. This resolves the contradiction by making the boundary line visible only when necessary for accurate cell wall position identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The display parameters of the boundary line are changed based on image brightness conditions. The control unit adjusts whether the boundary line is displayed or hidden, effectively changing its visibility parameter to match the brightness characteristics of the underlying corneal endothelial image, ensuring the boundary line remains distinguishable from the image background.
2Measurement precision
If the boundary line is always displayed to help identify cell walls, then position accuracy improves, but the complexity of image processing and display increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides self-service by automatically determining whether to display the boundary line based on the brightness characteristics of the corneal endothelial image. The control unit analyzes the image properties and autonomously decides on the appropriate display state, reducing the need for complex manual processing while maintaining accurate cell wall position identification.
3Measurement precision
If the boundary line is displayed to aid in cell wall identification, then measurement accuracy improves, but the time required for analysis increases due to the need for manual editing
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-determining the optimal display state of the boundary line based on image brightness characteristics before the examiner begins analysis. This preliminary decision eliminates the need for time-consuming manual adjustments and editing during the analysis process, allowing the examiner to focus directly on accurate cell wall position determination.
Data Source
AI summary
An ophthalmic apparatus which photographs an endothelial cell and measures a coat thickness of a cornea of an eye to be examined in a non-contact manner; comprising an image pickup unit (19) for photographing a corneal endothelium of the eye to be examined, a control unit (49) for detecting a cell wall of the endothelial cell from a corneal endothelial image photographed by the image pickup unit and for performing an image processing of hatching the cell wall with a boundary line, a display unit (54) for displaying an analytical image in which the cell wall hatched with the boundary line, and an operation unit (55), wherein the control unit changes the shading of the boundary line based on an input from the operation unit.