JP7524014B2 - Ophthalmic Equipment - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an ophthalmic device.

Conventionally, ophthalmic devices equipped with an acquisition optical system for acquiring ocular information of a subject's eye have been known.

In some of such ophthalmic devices, the acquisition optical system can be swung up and down and left and right in the rotation direction centered on the subject's eye (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this conventional ophthalmic device, the acquisition optical system is supported by an angle change mechanism, which has a tilt mechanism that can swing the acquisition optical system up and down and a swing mechanism that can swing the tilt mechanism left and right. The swing mechanism has a support arm fixed to the stand and a horizontal rotation unit that can rotate with respect to the support arm. The tilt mechanism has a curved arm that is fixed to the horizontal rotation unit and has a curved plate-like shape, and a guide member that can move along the curved arm, and the guide member is attached to the acquisition optical system. As a result, the conventional ophthalmic device can set the acquisition optical system to an arbitrary angle with respect to the subject's eye by moving the acquisition optical system along the curved arm while swinging the curved arm to an arbitrary position left and right, and can acquire eye information of the subject's eye at an arbitrary angle.

JP 2006-26097 A

However, in conventional ophthalmic devices, the acquisition optical system is supported by a single curved plate-shaped arm, so even a small impact can cause the acquisition optical system to vibrate. As a result, conventional ophthalmic devices may not be able to properly acquire eye information about the subject's eye due to the vibration of the acquisition optical system.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an ophthalmic device that can suppress the occurrence of vibrations in an acquisition optical system that is capable of moving up and down in a rotational direction around the subject's eye.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the ophthalmic device disclosed herein includes an acquisition optical system that acquires information about the subject's eye, and an angle change mechanism that tilts the acquisition optical system up, down, left, and right in a rotational direction centered on the subject's eye. The angle change mechanism includes a tilt mechanism that can tilt the acquisition optical system up and down, and a swivel mechanism that can swing the tilt mechanism left and right. The swivel mechanism includes a support arm fixed to a stand and a horizontal rotation unit that can rotate relative to the support arm. The tilt mechanism includes two curved arms that are fixed to the horizontal rotation unit and curved, and a guide mechanism that can move along the curved arms, and the guide mechanism is attached to the acquisition optical system.

The ophthalmic device disclosed herein can suppress vibrations in the acquisition optical system, which is capable of moving up and down in a rotational direction around the subject's eye.

1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an ophthalmic apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system in the ophthalmic apparatus. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an angle changing mechanism in an ophthalmic apparatus. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration in which the tilt mechanism in the angle change mechanism supports the main body (acquisition optical system), as viewed from the left curved arm (angle adjustment mechanism) side. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration in which the tilt mechanism supports the main body, as viewed from the curved arm side on the right side. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between a guide wheel portion of a right-side guide mechanism and a right-side curved arm. FIG.

Below, an example 1 of an ophthalmic device 10 as an embodiment of the ophthalmic device according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6. In Figs. 1 and 3, the acquisition optical system 19 is simplified and shown by a dashed line to facilitate understanding of the configuration of the ophthalmic device 10. In Fig. 3, the state in which the optical axis O of the acquisition optical system 19 is tilted downward by being tilted by the tilt mechanism 41 is shown with an arrow. Furthermore, in Figs. 4 to 6, the main body 18 is simplified and shown by an imaginary line to facilitate understanding of the configuration of the tilt mechanism 41. In addition, in Fig. 5, the left guide mechanism 44L and the angle adjustment mechanism 45 are omitted to facilitate understanding of the configuration of the tilt mechanism 41. In Fig. 6, the right support plate 46 is omitted in the right guide mechanism 44 to facilitate understanding of the positional relationship between the guide wheel 47 and the right curved arm 42R.

The ophthalmic device 10 according to the present disclosure acquires ocular information of the subject's eye E. In the following, the left-right direction as viewed from the subject is indicated by arrow X, the up-down direction (vertical direction) is indicated by arrow Y, and the direction perpendicular to the left-right and up-down directions is indicated by arrow Z as the front-rear direction of the main body unit 18 (the subject side is the front side).

The ophthalmic device 10 of Example 1 is a fundus camera and can acquire a fundus image as ocular information of the subject eye E. As shown in FIG. 1, the ophthalmic device 10 includes a base 11 and a platform 12 that is mounted on the base 11 so as to be movable in the front-back, left-right, and up-down directions (horizontal directions) and up-down directions. A joystick 13 is provided on the platform 12. The platform 12 is moved forward-backward, left-right, and up-down on the base 11 by operating the joystick 13. An operation button 13a is provided on the tip of the joystick 13, and pressing this button is an operation for capturing a fundus image.

The base 11 is provided with a support 14 extending in the vertical direction. The support 14 is provided with a chin rest 15, a forehead rest 16, and an external fixation light 17. The chin rest 15 and the forehead rest 16 fix the position of the subject's (patient's) face, i.e., the subject's eye E, relative to the main body 18 (acquisition optical system 19) described below during measurement. The chin rest 15 is where the subject places his or her chin, and the forehead rest 16 is where the subject places his or her forehead, and each can be moved vertically relative to the base 11. The external fixation light 17 is a light source for fixating the subject's eye E (fixing the line of sight). In this ophthalmic device 10, the subject places his or her chin on the chin rest 15 while facing the main body 18 with his or her forehead in contact with the forehead rest 16, and the external fixation light 17 is appropriately turned on to examine, observe, photograph, etc. the subject's eye E.

A main body 18 (head unit) is provided on the stand 12. The main body 18 houses the acquisition optical system 19 and the control unit 21 (see FIG. 2), and is supported on the stand 12 via an angle change mechanism 30. The angle change mechanism 30 allows the main body 18 to swing up, down, left, and right on the stand 12, making it possible to change the observation position and photographing position of the fundus of the examined eye by the acquisition optical system 19 housed therein. In the following, swinging the main body 18 (acquisition optical system 19) up and down is referred to as "tilting and lowering," and swinging it left and right is referred to as "swivel." The configuration of this angle change mechanism 30 will be described later.

The main body 18 is provided with an objective lens section 18a and an eyepiece lens section 18b. The objective lens section 18a is configured by housing an objective lens of the acquisition optical system 19 in a lens barrel, and is positioned opposite the subject's eye E. The eyepiece lens section 18b is configured by housing an eyepiece of the acquisition optical system 19 in a lens barrel, and is where the examiner observes the subject's eye E, etc.

A still camera 22 and an imaging device 23 are removably connected to the main body 18. The still camera 22 captures still images of the fundus of the subject's eye E through the acquisition optical system 19. Depending on the purpose of the examination, the still camera 22 may be a digital camera equipped with a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a film camera (e.g., 35 mm), an instant camera, or the like. The imaging device 23 captures moving images of the fundus through the acquisition optical system 19, and may be a television camera, or the like. When the still camera 22 or imaging device 23 is of a digital imaging type, the captured image data can be stored in a recording medium in the ophthalmic apparatus 10 or in an image recording device such as an external computer.

The main body 18 is provided with a monitor 24 on the examiner side. This monitor 24 displays the moving image (signal thereof) acquired by the imaging device 23, and can display the fundus image of the subject's eye E. The monitor 24 is preferably thin and lightweight, and as an example, is configured as a liquid crystal display device (LCD monitor) with a touch panel display screen. The monitor 24 of Example 1 displays an XY coordinate system with the center of the screen as the origin superimposed on the fundus image, and displays the coordinate value corresponding to the position where the screen is touched. In addition, under the control of the control unit 21, the monitor 24 appropriately displays the fundus image of the subject's eye E based on the image data from the acquisition optical system 19, and software keys as the operation unit 25.

The operation unit 25 allows the examiner or subject to operate the ophthalmic apparatus 10, i.e., the chin rest 15 and the acquisition optical system 19, and to control the operation and settings. The operation unit 25 is composed of the joystick 13, the operation button 13a at the tip of the joystick 13, and software keys displayed on the monitor 24. The software keys enable the execution of various operations, such as alignment with the subject's eye E, setting various examination conditions, and adjusting the display screen. The operation unit 25 may also have various buttons provided around the operation lever or the monitor 24, and may be composed of an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse.

The acquisition optical system 19 housed in the main body 18 constitutes a fundus camera that captures images of the fundus, and includes an illumination optical system that illuminates the fundus Ef of the subject's eye E (see FIG. 3) and an imaging optical system for observing and photographing the illuminated fundus Ef. The illumination optical system, for example, forms a ring-shaped light-transmitting portion image of the observation illumination light on the pupil, thereby enabling observation of the fundus Ef using a fundus reflection image from the subject's eye E based on the image. In addition, when photographing the fundus, the illumination optical system flashes a xenon lamp to illuminate the fundus Ef. In addition, in the case of fluorescence photography, the illumination optical system is capable of switching exciter filters depending on whether FAG photography or ICG photography is being performed, and in the case of color photography, both exciter filters are retracted from the optical path.

The imaging optical system guides the reflected light from the subject's eye E illuminated by the illumination optical system onto the imaging medium of the still camera 22 or onto the imaging element of the imaging device 23, thereby enabling observation and imaging of the fundus Ef. The control unit 21 displays data from the imaging element of the imaging device 23 on the monitor 24, enabling observation of the fundus image of the subject's eye E.

2, the control unit 21 comprehensively controls the operation of the ophthalmic device 10 in response to operations on the operation unit 25, etc., as appropriate, by expanding the program stored in the storage unit 26 or the built-in internal memory 21a onto, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory). In the first embodiment, the internal memory 21a is composed of a RAM or the like, and the storage unit 26 is composed of a ROM (Read Only Memory) or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) or the like. In addition to the above-mentioned configuration, the ophthalmic device 10 is appropriately provided with a printer that prints out the measurement results in response to a measurement completion signal or an instruction from the measurer, an output unit that outputs the measurement results to an external memory or a server, and an audio output unit that notifies the operation status, etc. The control unit 21 may be provided inside the base 11 or the stand 12, etc.

The control unit 21 is connected to the light source of the measurement optical system in the acquisition optical system 19, the light source of the alignment optical system, and sensors, etc., and controls them appropriately, and is also connected to the operating parts of the optical systems required for measurement in the acquisition optical system 19 and drives (including moving) them appropriately. In addition, the joystick 13 (operation button 13a), monitor 24, memory unit 26, platform position sensor 27, swivel sensor 28, and elevation sensor 29 are connected to the control unit 21. In the ophthalmic device 10, power is supplied from a commercial power source to the control unit 21, and the control unit 21 supplies power to each of the above connected parts.

As shown in FIG. 3, the platform position sensor 27 detects that the platform 12 is at a predetermined position in the front-rear direction on the base 11, and outputs a signal to the control unit 21. The platform position sensor 27 has a platform-side contact 27a fixedly arranged on the side of the platform 12, and a base-side contact 27b fixedly arranged on the side of the base 11. When the joystick 13 is tilted forward in the front-rear direction and the platform 12 moves forward to reach a predetermined position, the platform position sensor 27 detects that the platform 12 has been moved to the predetermined position by the platform-side contact 27a and the base-side contact 27b coming into contact and being electrically connected.

The swivel sensor 28 detects that the main body 18 (acquisition optical system 19) is located at the swivel reference position (center position) and outputs a signal to the control unit 21. The swivel reference position is the center of the rotatable range of the horizontal rotation unit 35, which has the central axis 34a as the center of rotation, in the swivel mechanism 31 (see FIG. 3, etc.) of the angle change mechanism 30 described later. The swivel sensor 28 has an arm side sensor unit 28a provided on the upper surface near the other end of the support arm 33 described later, and a rotation side sensor unit 28b provided on the lower surface of the horizontal rotation unit 35. The arm side sensor unit 28a is located at a position corresponding to the swivel reference position. The arm side sensor unit 28a and the rotation side sensor unit 28b output a signal indicating that they approach each other when they approach each other, and may be either a contact type sensor or a non-contact type sensor. When the rotation side sensor part 28b is positioned above the arm side sensor part 28a, the swivel sensor 28 detects that the main body part 18 has been moved to the swivel reference position.

The elevation sensor 29 detects that the main body 18 (acquisition optical system 19) is located at the elevation reference position (center position) and outputs a signal to the control unit 21. The elevation reference position is the center of the movable range of the guide mechanism 44 on the curved arm 42 with the central axis 42a as the center of rotation in the elevation mechanism 41 of the angle change mechanism 30 described later. The elevation reference position in Example 1 is a position where the optical axis O of the acquisition optical system 19 housed in the main body 18 is horizontal. The elevation sensor 29 has an arm-side sensor unit 29a provided on the curved arm 42 and a body-side sensor unit 29b provided on the underside of the horizontal rotation unit 35. The arm-side sensor unit 29a is located at a position corresponding to the elevation reference position. When the arm-side sensor unit 29a and the body-side sensor unit 29b approach each other, they output a signal indicating that they are close to each other, and may be contact-type or non-contact-type sensors. The elevation sensor 29 detects that the main body 18 has been moved to the elevation reference position when the arm-side sensor unit 29a and the main body-side sensor unit 29b are positioned opposite each other.

Next, the configuration of the angle change mechanism 30 will be described. The angle change mechanism 30 tilts and swivels the main body 18 on the stand 12, and can change the angle of the optical axis O of the acquisition optical system 19 housed in the main body 18 relative to the optical axis OE of the subject's eye E. The angle change mechanism 30 includes a swivel mechanism 31 and an elevation mechanism 41. The swivel mechanism 31 is capable of swinging the elevation mechanism 41 left and right, and allows the main body 18, i.e., the acquisition optical system 19, to rotate in the horizontal direction, i.e., to swivel, via the elevation mechanism 41. The elevation mechanism 41 allows the main body 18, i.e., the acquisition optical system 19, to rotate in the vertical direction, i.e., to tilt and swivel.

The swivel mechanism 31 has a base 32, a support arm 33, a rotating shaft 34, and a horizontal rotating section 35. The base 32 is fixed onto the stand 12. The support arm 33 is rod-shaped extending in the front-to-rear direction, with one end on the rear side in the front-to-rear direction fixed onto the base 32 and the other end located on the front side in the front-to-rear direction and at the top in the vertical direction. The rotating shaft 34 is provided on the other end of the support arm 33, and is cylindrical extending in the vertical direction.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the horizontal rotation unit 35 has a base portion 35a and a pair of mounting portions 35b. The base portion 35a has a bearing hole 35c extending in the vertical direction. The bearing hole 35c is a hole that rotatably receives the rotation shaft portion 34. When the rotation shaft portion 34 is inserted into the bearing hole 35c, the horizontal rotation unit 35 can rotate relative to the support arm 33 around the central axis 34a (see Fig. 3) of the rotation shaft portion 34 extending in the vertical direction. A rotation stopper is provided between the horizontal rotation unit 35 and the rotation shaft portion 34, and the range in which the horizontal rotation unit 35 can rotate relative to the support arm 33 is limited. The rotation stopper is provided at a position that provides an equal angular range in both the left and right rotation directions around the swing reference position (center position) detected by the swing sensor 28.

Therefore, by aligning the horizontal position of the central axis 34a (its extension) with the pupil center Ep of the subject's eye E, the swivel mechanism 31 can rotate the support arm 33 and the tilt mechanism 41 horizontally around the pupil center Ep (see Figure 3).

As shown in Figures 3 to 6, the elevation mechanism 41 has a curved arm 42, a bridge section 43, a guide mechanism 44, and an angle adjustment mechanism 45. The curved arms 42 guide the movement of the elevation mechanism 41, and in Example 1, they are provided in pairs on the left and right. In the following, when describing them individually, the one located on the left side as seen by the subject will be referred to as curved arm 42L, and the one located on the right side will be referred to as curved arm 42R, and will be simply referred to as curved arm 42 except when describing them individually. The same applies to the guide mechanism 44.

The curved arms 42 are of the same shape and are arranged in a symmetrical positional relationship in the left-right direction (symmetrical with respect to a vertical plane perpendicular to the left-right direction). In the first embodiment, each curved arm 42 is formed by bending a plate-like member, and is an arc with a center of curvature at a central axis 42a (see FIG. 3) extending in the left-right direction set on an extension line of the central axis 34a. The lower ends of each curved arm 42 are attached to a pair of mounting parts 35b of the horizontal rotation part 35, and draw an arc that extends upward in the vertical direction from the mounting parts 35b toward the rear side in the front-to-back direction. Therefore, each curved arm 42 can be positioned to draw an arc with the pupil center Ep as the center of curvature by aligning the position of the central axis 42a on a plane perpendicular to the horizontal direction with the pupil center Ep of the subject's eye E.

The bridge portion 43 is a plate-shaped member that spans the vicinity of the upper ends of both curved arms 42 in the left-right direction. As long as the bridge portion 43 is fixed to both curved arms 42, it may be integral with both curved arms 42 or may be a separate body. The bridge portion 43 cooperates with both curved arms 42 and the horizontal rotation portion 35 to form a rectangular frame. Note that the position, size, etc. of the bridge portion 43 may be set appropriately as long as it spans both curved arms 42, and is not limited to the configuration of Example 1.

The guide mechanisms 44 allow the main body 18 to move along each curved arm 42, and are provided in pairs corresponding to each curved arm 42. Each guide mechanism 44 has a support plate 46 and multiple guide wheels 47. Each support plate 46 is a plate-shaped member provided along the corresponding curved arm 42, rotatably supports each guide wheel 47, and is fixed to the main body 18.

Each guide wheel portion 47 is wheel-shaped and can move along each edge 42b of the corresponding curved arm 42 by abutting against each edge 42b. At least three guide wheel portions 47 are provided for a single curved arm 42, with at least one on at least one of the upper and lower sides in the vertical direction and at least two on the other, so that they are sandwiched between the curved arms 42. Therefore, each guide wheel portion 47 can move along the curved arm 42, and the guide mechanism 44 can be moved in a rotational direction around the central axis 42a.

The guide mechanism 44 is provided with a movement stopper. This movement stopper limits the movable range of the guide mechanism 44 on each curved arm 42. In the first embodiment, a convex portion is provided on the side of each curved arm 42, and the convex portion contacts the guide mechanism 44 to limit the movement of the guide mechanism 44 on each curved arm 42. The movement stopper is provided at a position that has an equal angular range in both the up and down rotation directions centered on the elevation reference position (center position) detected by the elevation sensor 29. This allows the guide mechanism 44 to move the main body 18 (acquisition optical system 19) within a predetermined range in the rotation direction centered on the central axis 42a of each curved arm 42. Note that the movement stopper is not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment, and the configuration and rotation range may be appropriately set as long as it limits the movable range of the guide mechanism 44 on each curved arm 42.

The angle adjustment mechanism 45 is operated to adjust the position of the guide mechanism 44 in the direction along the curved arm 42 of the main body 18, i.e., the position of the guide mechanism 44 on the curved arm 42. The angle adjustment mechanism 45 can adjust the angle of the optical axis O of the acquisition optical system 19 on the main body 18 in the vertical plane relative to the optical axis OE of the subject's eye E. As shown in FIG. 4, the angle adjustment mechanism 45 of Example 1 is provided on the left curved arm 42L, and has a cylindrical case 51 and an operating knob 52.

The cylindrical case 51 is attached to the main body 18 via a plate (not shown). The cylindrical case 51 is provided with a moving part that moves the guide mechanism 44 along the curved arm 42, and a fixing part that fixes the guide mechanism 44 at a position on the curved arm 42 to which it has been moved by the moving part. The moving part has a rack fixed to the curved arm 42 and a pinion that meshes with the rack. The rack has gear teeth on a surface that is curved along the curvature of the curved arm 42. The pinion is rotatably provided with respect to the plate, and is fixed to an operating shaft provided on the operating knob 52.

One end of a spiral spring is attached to the operating shaft. The other end of the spiral spring is fixed to the cylindrical case 51, and exerts a force in the rotational direction on the operating shaft (operating knob 52) that moves the main body 18 upward. By rotating the operating knob 52, this moving part can change the position of the pinion relative to the rack, and can change the position of the main body 18 on the curved arm 42. In addition, the moving part is assisted in moving the main body 18 upward by the action of the spiral spring, making the movement of the main body 18 smoother.

The fixed part has a brake lever 53. The brake lever 53 is plate-shaped with one end protruding from the cylindrical case 51. The brake lever 53 changes the state of the brake ring surrounding the operating shaft to which the operating knob 52 is fixed, and in the normal state, the brake ring tightens and fixes the operating shaft, and when the protruding end is displaced, the brake ring releases the tightening of the operating shaft. Therefore, in the normal state, the fixed part fixes the operating shaft (operating knob 52), i.e., the pinion, thereby fixing the position of the main body part 18 on the curved arm 42. In addition, when the brake lever 53 is operated and released, the fixed part allows the operating shaft (pinion) to rotate, thereby allowing the main body part 18 to move on the curved arm 42 by the moving part.

Next, a process of acquiring a fundus image as ocular information of the subject's eye E using the ophthalmic apparatus 10 will be described.
In the ophthalmic device 10, first, the face of the subject is fixed using the chin rest 15 and the forehead rest 16, and the position of the subject's eye E is fixed. Then, the main body 18, i.e., the acquisition optical system 19 housed therein, is aligned (so-called alignment) with respect to the subject's eye E. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the joystick 13 is operated to move the main body 18 up and down and left and right to align the optical axis O of the acquisition optical system 19 with the optical axis OE of the subject's eye E, and the joystick 13 is operated back and forth to align the horizontal position of the central axis 34a (its extension line) of the rotating shaft 34 with the pupil position of the subject's eye E. As a result, the optical axis O of the acquisition optical system 19 and the central axis 34a of the rotating shaft 34 are arranged so as to be perpendicular to each other at the pupil center Ep of the subject's eye E. At this time, the main body 18 is in the reference position in the angle changing mechanism 30, i.e., the swing mechanism 31 is set to the swing reference position and the tilt mechanism 41 is set to the tilt reference position. Therefore, the main body 18 can be swung by the swivel mechanism 31 in an equal angular range to the left and right around the pupil center Ep by the angle change mechanism 30, and can be tilted up and down in an equal angular range by the tilt mechanism 41. Therefore, in the ophthalmic device 10, the position where the central axis 34a of the rotation shaft portion 34 of the swivel mechanism 31 and the central axis 42a of the curved arm 42 of the tilt mechanism 41 intersect becomes the alignment target position Pa. Then, in the ophthalmic device 10, the alignment target position Pa is matched with the pupil center Ep of the subject's eye E by alignment, and thus the main body 18 (acquisition optical system 19) can be swung and tilted up and down around the pupil center Ep as the rotation center. In addition, the ophthalmic apparatus 10 is aligned so that the alignment target position Pa coincides with the rotation point of the subject's eye E, thereby enabling the main body 18 (acquisition optical system 19) to swivel and tilt around the rotation point as the center of rotation.

When the alignment is complete, the examiner operates the operation unit 25 as appropriate to observe the anterior segment of the subject's eye E. The control unit 21 operates each part of the acquisition optical system 19 in response to the operation of the operation unit 25 to illuminate the subject's eye E, acquires the reflected light of the illumination light from the anterior segment with the imaging device 23, and displays the acquired image on the monitor 24. The examiner can observe various parts of the anterior segment by tilting or swinging the main body unit 18 using the angle change mechanism 30.

The examiner also operates the operation unit 25 appropriately to set the main body unit 18 to the swing reference position and the tilt reference position, and then transitions from the anterior segment observation state to the fundus observation state. The examiner can recognize that the body unit 18 is in the swing reference position by detection from the swing sensor 28, and can recognize that the body unit 18 is in the tilt reference position by detection from the tilt sensor 29. At this time, the control unit 21 transitions the acquisition optical system 19 from the anterior segment image capturing state to the fundus image capturing state in response to the operation of the operation unit 25, and the display on the monitor 24 switches from the image of the anterior segment to the image of the fundus. Therefore, when transitioning from anterior segment observation to fundus observation (pushing), the examiner only needs to tilt the joystick 13 straight forward, so that even if the examiner is not skilled in examinations using a fundus camera, the push-in operation can be easily performed. The examiner can then perform fundus observation on the monitor 24 and image the area of interest of the fundus Ef by appropriately pressing the operation button 13a of the joystick 13.

Here, in conventional ophthalmic devices, the elevation mechanism of the angle change mechanism is provided with only one curved plate-shaped arm. For this reason, even a small impact, such as when the subject's face is placed between the chin rest and forehead rest, can cause vibrations in the main body (acquisition optical system), which can interfere with proper imaging using a still camera or imaging device. In particular, since it takes several seconds to acquire a fundus image, the image is prone to being affected by blurring due to vibrations.

In contrast, the ophthalmic device 10 has two plate-shaped curved arms 42 in the tilt mechanism 41 of the angle change mechanism 30. Therefore, the ophthalmic device 10 supports the main body 18 (acquisition optical system 19) with two curved arms 42 via the guide mechanism 44, so that the support rigidity of the main body 18 can be increased. This is not simply because the number of curved arms 42 is two and rigidity is increased, but because the main body 18 (acquisition optical system 19) is supported by two curved arms 42, the resonant frequency (natural frequency) of the support configuration can be increased, and the difference from the vibration frequency that may occur in the ophthalmic device 10 due to impact can be increased. This is due to the following. First, the applicant focused on the fact that in the above-mentioned conventional ophthalmic device, low-frequency, large-amplitude vibration components affect the shooting results. Then, the applicant decided to increase the number of curved arms of the tilt mechanism of the conventional ophthalmic device to increase the cross-sectional area of the rigid body in order to suppress the influence of vibration on the shooting results while minimizing the change in the configuration of the tilt mechanism. As a result, the applicant found that the natural frequency of the ophthalmic device 10 (tilt mechanism 41) can be significantly shifted to the high frequency side, and the natural frequency can be significantly separated from the frequency that may occur in the ophthalmic device 10 due to impact. The applicant confirmed through 3D CAD simulation that the natural frequency of the ophthalmic device 10 (tilt mechanism 41) can be significantly shifted to the high frequency side by increasing the number of curved arms and increasing the cross-sectional area of the rigid body. As a result, even when an impact is applied to the ophthalmic device 10, the main body 18 (acquisition optical system 19) can be prevented from vibrating, and the still camera 22 and the imaging device 23 can appropriately capture images. In addition, the ophthalmic device 10 can effectively improve the rigidity of the main body (tilt mechanism 41) by simple modifications without impairing the functions and performance of conventional ophthalmic devices, and can be realized at low cost.

In addition, in the ophthalmic device 10, the bridge portion 43 spans both curved arms 42 in the left-right direction, so the support rigidity of the main body portion 18 by both curved arms 42 can be further increased, and vibration of the main body portion 18 can be more effectively suppressed. In particular, in the ophthalmic device 10, the bridge portion 43 spans the vicinity of the upper ends of both curved arms 42 in the left-right direction, so the bridge portion 43, both curved arms 42, and the horizontal rotation portion 35 can form a rectangular frame, and the support rigidity of the main body portion 18 can be further increased.

The ophthalmic device 10 of the first embodiment of the ophthalmic device according to the present disclosure can achieve the following effects.

In the ophthalmic device 10, the angle change mechanism 30 has a tilt mechanism 41 that swings the acquisition optical system 19 up and down, and a swing mechanism 31 that swings the tilt mechanism 41 left and right, and the swing mechanism 31 has a support arm 33 fixed to the stand 12 and a horizontal rotation unit 35 that can rotate relative to the support arm 33. In the ophthalmic device 10, the tilt mechanism 41 has two curved arms 42 that are fixed to the horizontal rotation unit 35 and curved, and a guide mechanism 44 that can move along the curved arms 42, and the guide mechanism 44 is attached to the acquisition optical system 19. Therefore, the ophthalmic device 10 can increase the support rigidity of the acquisition optical system 19 compared to conventional ophthalmic devices that support the acquisition optical system 19 with one curved arm, and can suppress vibration of the acquisition optical system 19 even when an impact is applied, and can acquire information of the subject eye E by the acquisition optical system 19.

In addition, the ophthalmic device 10 has a rotating shaft unit 34 having a central axis 34a passing through the alignment target position Pa on the support arm 33, a horizontal rotating unit 35 is rotatably attached to the rotating shaft unit 34, and two curved arms 42 are curved along a rotation direction centered on the alignment target position Pa. Therefore, by aligning the alignment target position Pa with the pupil center Ep of the subject's eye E, the ophthalmic device 10 can swivel and tilt the acquisition optical system 19 around the pupil center Ep, and obtain information on various parts of the subject's eye E. In addition, by aligning the alignment target position Pa with the rotation point of the subject's eye E, the ophthalmic device 10 can swivel and tilt the acquisition optical system 19 around the rotation point, and obtain information on various parts of the subject's eye E.

Furthermore, the ophthalmic device 10 has two curved arms 42 positioned so as to sandwich the acquisition optical system 19 in the left-right direction. This allows the ophthalmic device 10 to more stably support the acquisition optical system 19, and also makes assembly and maintenance easier.

The two curved arms 42 of the ophthalmic device 10 are symmetrical in the left-right direction. This allows the ophthalmic device 10 to support the acquisition optical system 19 in a balanced manner on the left and right, and the acquisition optical system 19 can be tilted up and down stably.

In the ophthalmic device 10, the bridge section 43 is bridged across the two curved arms 42, so that the two curved arms 42 are integrated. Therefore, the ophthalmic device 10 can further increase the support rigidity of the acquisition optical system 19 by the two curved arms 42, and can more effectively suppress vibration of the acquisition optical system 19.

Therefore, in the ophthalmic device 10 as one embodiment of the ophthalmic device according to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress vibrations in the acquisition optical system 19, which is capable of moving up and down in a rotational direction around the subject's eye E.

The ophthalmic device of the present disclosure has been described above based on Example 1, but the specific configuration is not limited to Example 1, and design changes and additions are permitted as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the invention according to each claim in the scope of the claims.

For example, in Example 1, the acquisition optical system 19 having the above-mentioned configuration is used. However, the acquisition unit of the present disclosure can be applied as long as it has an acquisition optical system capable of acquiring information on the subject's eye E, and is not limited to the configuration of Example 1. As an example, such an acquisition optical system can be configured by using, alone or in combination, the following in addition to the fundus camera of Example 1: a tomography device (OCT) that captures a tomographic image of the retina, a specular microscope that captures an image of the corneal endothelium, a refractometer or wavefront sensor that measures refractive power including spherical power, cylindrical power, and cylindrical axis angle, a keratometer that measures the corneal shape, a tonometer that measures intraocular pressure, etc.

In addition, in Example 1, the two curved arms 42 are configured symmetrically in the left-right direction. However, as long as the acquisition optical system 19 (main body 18) is supported by the two curved arms 42 via the guide mechanism 44 so that it can be tilted up and down around the alignment target position Pa, the configuration is not limited to that of Example 1. As such an example, for example, the two curved arms may have different radii of curvature, or a link mechanism or the like may be used in which at least one of the arms is not curved along the rotational direction around the alignment target position Pa, and the configuration is not limited to that of Example 1.

Furthermore, in Example 1, the two curved arms 42 are arranged at positions sandwiching the acquisition optical system 19 (main body 18) in the left-right direction. However, as long as the acquisition optical system 19 (main body 18) can be supported so as to be tiltable up and down around the alignment target position Pa, at least one of the curved arms 42 may pass through the inside of the acquisition optical system 19 (main body 18) or may have another configuration, and is not limited to the configuration of Example 1.

In Example 1, a bridge section 43 is provided by bridging the vicinity of the upper ends of the two curved arms 42 in the left-right direction. However, the position at which the bridge section 43 is provided can be set appropriately, and the bridge section 43 does not need to be provided, and is not limited to the configuration of Example 1. This is because, due to the configuration of the acquisition optical system 19 (main body section 18), there is a risk that the various parts housed therein will interfere with the bridge section when tilting up and down around the alignment target position Pa, and therefore it is necessary to determine the position and presence or absence of the bridge section from this perspective.

In the first embodiment, the platform 12 is movable in the front-back, left-right, up-down directions on the base 11, and the platform 12 is tilted and swung by the angle change mechanism 30, so that the acquisition optical system 19 (main body 18) can be moved (displaced) in five directions (five axes). However, as long as the acquisition optical system 19 (main body 18) can be tilted and swung by the angle change mechanism 30, the configuration and directions for movement (displacement) can be set appropriately, and are not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment. For example, the number of directions for movement (displacement) may be increased. As an example of this, a configuration for rotating the acquisition optical system 19 around its optical axis O within the main body 18 is added, so that the acquisition optical system 19 can be moved (displaced) in six directions (six axes). With such a configuration, the weight of the main body 18 increases, and there is a risk that the above-mentioned vibrations may occur more easily in conventional ophthalmic devices. However, in the ophthalmic device disclosed herein, the tilt mechanism 41 supports the acquisition optical system 19 (main body 18) with two curved arms 42, so even if the weight increases in this way, the support rigidity of the acquisition optical system 19 can be increased compared to conventional ophthalmic devices, and vibrations can be suppressed.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Ophthalmic apparatus 12 Stand 19 Acquisition optical system 30 Angle change mechanism 31 Swing mechanism 33 Support arm 34 Rotation shaft section 34a Central shaft 35 Horizontal rotation section 41 Tilt mechanism 42 Curved arm 43 Bridge section 44 Guide mechanism E Subject's eye Pa Alignment target position

Claims (5)

an acquisition optical system for acquiring information of a subject's eye;
an angle changing mechanism that tilts the acquisition optical system up, down, left, and right in a rotation direction around the subject's eye,
the angle change mechanism includes a tilt mechanism that can tilt the acquisition optical system up and down, and a swing mechanism that can swing the tilt mechanism left and right,
The oscillating mechanism includes a support arm fixed to a base and a horizontal rotation unit rotatable relative to the support arm,
An ophthalmic device characterized in that the tilt mechanism has two curved arms fixed to the horizontal rotation portion and curved, and a guide mechanism movable along the curved arms, and the guide mechanism is attached to the acquisition optical system. The support arm is provided with a rotation shaft portion having a central axis passing through an alignment target position,
the horizontal rotation unit is rotatably attached to the rotation shaft unit,
The ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the two curved arms are curved along a rotation direction centered on the alignment target position. The ophthalmic device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the two curved arms are arranged in positions that sandwich the acquisition optical system in the left-right direction. The ophthalmic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the two curved arms are symmetrical in the left-right direction. 5. The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two curved arms are integrated with each other via a bridge portion.