JPH0217173B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention is an imaging device that allows viewing of a television camera, and is particularly useful for teaching and researching medical students, trainees, practicing physicians, nurses, etc., to monitor surgical situations. The present invention relates to an imaging device useful for observation.

(Conventional technology) Conventionally, when performing various surgeries, medical students, trainee doctors, etc. are asked to observe the surgical situation for the purpose of educating them. These people who are directly involved in the surgery are located around the operating table, so medical students, residents, nurses, etc. can perform the surgery even if they are around the operating table. It is not possible to observe the details clearly, so a television camera is set in the lighting system above the operating table to capture images of the surgery, which can then be viewed on a public viewing monitor set up at a distance. . At this time, the video signal captured by the television camera is recorded by a video tape recorder so that it can be viewed again later.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional imaging device described above, the television camera is fixedly installed, so the bodies of people around the operating table, especially their heads and hands, are in the shadows, and the area to be operated on is obscured. There are some drawbacks that cannot be observed well. For this reason, conventional imaging devices have the drawback that the field of view is blocked by the head or hands for 70% of the total imaging time, and the surgical site can only be seen for about 30% of the time.

In addition, in conventional imaging devices, the camera is fixedly arranged, so there is a drawback that it cannot be used in cases where, for example, a surgical site cannot be clearly observed unless it is imaged from the side.

In order to overcome these drawbacks, we developed an imaging device that uses a solid-state image sensor to place a small, lightweight TV camera on the doctor's head to take images. Doctors cannot see the window of the TV camera, so they cannot accurately confirm the area to be imaged, and in actual use, there is a drawback that it is not always possible to image the appropriate area. I understand.

We also developed an imaging device in which a small television camera is attached to a bendable flexible pipe, and this pipe is placed near the operating table so that the television camera can be moved to any position to capture images. In this case as well, it is actually difficult to select the area to be imaged while looking through the viewfinder of the TV camera, so the camera is moved by hand to an approximate position and the direction is determined so that the desired area is correctly imaged. There were many cases where it was not done.

Furthermore, since television cameras for surgical observation need to magnify images to enable detailed observation of the affected area and the details of the surgery, the field of view is extremely narrow, making it difficult to direct the optical axis to the desired area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide an imaging device that allows confirmation of an imaged region using a light beam.

(Means and Effects for Solving the Problems) The imaging device of the present invention includes a television camera having an objective lens, and is provided integrally with the television camera, and uses a beam spot to point a part of a subject to be imaged by the objective lens. The device is characterized in that a light source device that projects an instructing light beam can be seen.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the basic configuration of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention. A light source device 2 that projects a light beam is attached to the housing of a small and lightweight television camera 1 that includes a small solid-state image pickup device such as a CCD. This light source device 2 includes, for example, a light emitting diode or a laser diode that emits a red light beam, and emits a light beam 5 that intersects on a predetermined focal point P on the optical axis 4 of the objective lens 3 of the television camera 1. Let it radiate. This focal position P is set at a point where a focused image by the objective lens 3 is formed on the image sensor.

According to the imaging device having the above configuration, the light beam 5 emitted from the light source device 2 is projected onto the subject 6 to form a red spot S, so that the user cannot know the imaged area from this spot. can.
In this case, even if the subject 6 deviates somewhat from the focal position P, the point where the optical axis 4 intersects the subject 6, that is, the distance between the center of the imaging field of view and the beam spot S, will not deviate significantly, so the approximate imaged area can be determined. You can know.

(Embodiment) FIGS. 2 to 4 show the configuration of an embodiment of the imaging device of the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the entire system including the imaging device. A pair of light source devices 13 and 14 are attached above and below the housing of a television camera 12 having an objective lens 11. These light source devices 13 and 14 are provided with generating diodes that emit red light beams 15 and 16, which red light beams are arranged to intersect the optical axis 17 of the objective lens 11 at its focal point P. . A cable 18 connected to the television camera 12 connects to a camera control unit 19 which in turn connects to a video tape recorder 20 and a public monitor 21.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the imaging device of this example in detail, in which mounting brackets 22 and 23 are fixed to the housing of the television camera 12, and light source devices 13 and 14 are attached to these mounting brackets so that the angle can be adjusted. Install. Further, a holding fitting 24 is fixed to the housing of the television camera 12, and is attached to the front part of a headband 25 worn on the head of a surgeon, for example, so that the angle can be adjusted.

Light beams 15 and 16 emitted from a pair of light source devices 13 and 14 extend vertically symmetrically about the optical axis 17 of the objective lens 11, and intersect at the focal point P of the objective lens. .
This focal position P, that is, the focal length, is set to a predetermined value by adjusting the lens 11 in advance. Adjust the mounting angle.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the detailed configuration of the light source device 13. In this example, a light emitting diode 13a that emits a red light beam is fixed to a substrate 13b, and this substrate is held between the front end of a ring 13c and a sleeve 13d screwed onto the ring. A lens holder 13e is further screwed into this sleeve 13d, and a plastic lens 13f is fixed to this lens holder. A mounting bracket 13g is fitted between the sleeve 13d and the lens holder 13e,
This mounting bracket is connected to a mounting bracket 22 (FIG. 2) fixed to the housing of the camera head 12. Lead wire 13h is pulled out from the rear of ring 13c via cable clamp 13i. In this example, the focal length of the lens 13f is adjustable within a range of 400 to 500 mm.

According to the above-mentioned imaging device, the surgeon who has attached the imaging device to his head can see that the optical axis 17 of the objective lens 11 is located between the spots of the red beams emitted from the light emitting diodes of the light source devices 13 and 14. Since the user can easily know which part is being imaged by the imaging device, the desired part can be imaged by moving the head appropriately. Furthermore, since the adjustment is made so that the position where the two red beam spots coincide is the in-focus position, the approximate state of out-of-focus can be determined by the distance between the two red beam spots. Furthermore, the red light beam emitted from the light emitting diode is not harmful to the human body and will not cause any damage to the patient.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the imaging device of the present invention. In this example, a light emitting diode 33 is placed on the optical axis in front of the objective lens 32 of the television camera 31 with a transparent plate 34 in between. With this configuration, the red light beam emitted from the light emitting diode 33 is emitted along the optical axis of the objective lens 32, and the position where the spot of the red light beam is formed becomes the center of the imaging field of view. can be checked intuitively. Further, since the dimensions of the light emitting diode 33 are extremely small, it does not have much influence on the subject image formed on the image sensor.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but can be modified and changed in many ways. Second
In the embodiments shown in Figures to Figures 4, two sets of light source devices are arranged vertically and symmetrically around the optical axis of the objective lens. It can also be placed. Furthermore, three or more sets of light source devices may be arranged symmetrically about the optical axis of the objective lens.

Further, in the embodiments described above, the imaging device is configured to be placed on the user's head, but it can also be attached to the tip of a bendable flexible pipe provided near the operating table.

Furthermore, in the embodiments described above, the light source device is provided with a light emitting diode, but other light sources such as a laser diode or an incandescent lamp may also be provided.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the above-described imaging device of the present invention, the user can roughly know the area to be imaged by the light beam spot formed on the subject, and therefore can easily image a desired area. can be done. When actually used in surgery, it accounted for approximately 80% of the total imaging time.
confirmed that the desired site could be imaged.

Furthermore, when two or more light beams are used, it is possible to confirm the imaged region more accurately and also to confirm the in-focus state, which has the advantage that the imaged screen becomes very easy to see.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the basic configuration of the imaging device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an imaging system including an embodiment of the imaging device of the invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of the device, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of the light source device, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the imaging device of the present invention. 1...TV camera, 2...Light source device, 3...
Objective lens, 4... Objective lens optical axis, 5... Light beam, 6... Subject, P... Focus position, S... Light beam spot, 11... Objective lens, 12...
Television camera, 13, 14... Light source device, 15,
16...Light beam, 17...Objective lens optical axis, 2
0... Video tape recorder, 21... Public viewing monitor, 25... Headband, 31... Television camera, 32... Objective lens, 33... Light emitting diode, 34... Transparent plate.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A television camera having an objective lens, and a light source device that is provided integrally with the television camera and projects a light beam that indicates the part of the subject to be imaged by the objective lens with a beam spot. An imaging device characterized by being able to capture images. 2. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the light source device is configured to project the light beam along the optical axis of the objective lens. 3. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein at least two sets of the light source devices are provided so as to project two light beams across the optical axis of the objective lens.