JP2025017165A - Ophthalmic device and processing program for ophthalmic device - Google Patents

Abstract

To make it difficult to identify an individual subject while allowing the subject's eyes to be confirmed.
[Solution] An ophthalmic device used for examining a subject's eye includes an image acquisition means for acquiring an image of the subject's face including the subject's eye, and a processing means, the processing means dividing the captured image into an eye region where the subject's eye is present (the eye region includes at least the pupil of the subject's eye) and an unnecessary region not required for the examination, and obtaining and outputting a processed image including the eye region, the processed image being processed to make the subject's identity unidentifiable for the unnecessary region. The processing means obtains the processed image including the eye region by performing either a first process for cutting out the eye region from the captured image or a second process for making the subject's unique features visually unidentifiable for the unnecessary region.
[Selection diagram] Figure 8

Description

This disclosure relates to an ophthalmic device used to examine a subject's eye, and a processing program for the ophthalmic device.

Known ophthalmic devices for examining the subject's eye include eye refractive power measuring devices, intraocular pressure measuring devices, and corneal shape measuring devices for measuring the eye characteristics of the subject's eye, optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices for photographing the eye tissue of the subject's eye, scanning laser ophthalmoscopes (SLO), fundus cameras, and corneal endothelium imaging devices (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2022-80459 A

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

However, if the captured image of the subject's eye contains not only the subject's eye, but also the nose, mouth, ears, eyebrows, facial bones, and other parts of the subject's face, these can easily identify the subject. In this case, there is a risk that the protection of the subject's privacy may be hindered. In some cases, the subject's personal information may be misused.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, the technical objective of the present disclosure is to provide an ophthalmic device and processing program that can make it difficult to identify the individual subject while allowing the subject's eye to be confirmed.

(1) An ophthalmic device according to a first aspect of the present disclosure is an ophthalmic device used for examining a subject's eye, and includes an image acquisition means for acquiring an image of the subject's face including the subject's eye, and a processing means, wherein the processing means divides the captured image into an eye area where the eye to be examined is located and an unnecessary area not required for the examination, and obtains and outputs a processed image including the eye area that has been processed to make the subject's identity unidentifiable for the unnecessary area.
(2) The processing program of an ophthalmic apparatus according to the second aspect of the present disclosure is a processing program of an ophthalmic apparatus executed in an ophthalmic apparatus used to examine a test eye, and is characterized in that the processing program is executed by a control unit to cause the ophthalmic apparatus to execute the following steps: an image acquisition step of acquiring an image of the subject's face including the test eye; and a processing step of obtaining and outputting a processed image including the eye region in which the test eye is located and an unnecessary region not required for the test, the processed image being divided into an eye region in which the test target eye is located and an unnecessary region not required for the test, and processing the unnecessary region so that the subject's identity cannot be identified.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the external configuration and the configuration of an optical system of the ophthalmic apparatus, as viewed from the side. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an ophthalmologic apparatus as seen from the subject's side. 4 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of a measurement light source provided in a projection optical system; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system in an ophthalmic apparatus. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a display during alignment of the optometry unit with respect to a subject's eye. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining measurement of eye refractive power by a photorefraction method. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a captured image on which a measurement result is calculated. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating cutting out an eye region. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a second process for an unnecessary region. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating setting of an eye region based on a detected eye. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a processed image in which an elliptical eye region is cut out from a captured image.

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

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

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

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

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

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

For example, in the first process of cutting out the eye region from the captured image, the processing means may discard image data of the unnecessary region. This causes the storage means (e.g., memory 54) to store image data of only the eye region, and not the image data of the unnecessary region, thereby reducing the possibility that the output processed image will be misused and the risk of the subject's privacy being violated.

For example, the second process (processing that makes the subject's unique features visually unrecognizable) may be, in other words, a process that deteriorates the image quality of the unnecessary region with respect to the original captured image. For example, the second process may be at least one of the following processes for the unnecessary region: a process of changing the luminance gradation of the image to a single color or multiple colors, a mosaic process, a blurring process, a process of adding a color pattern, a process of overlaying another image, and a process of replacing it with another image. These are included in the process of worsening the image quality of the unnecessary region with respect to the original captured image. The process of adjusting the luminance gradation of the image is easily performed without adding a special processing function to the processing means, as in the first process of cutting out the eye region. Note that the second process may not be performed on the entire unnecessary region, but may be performed partially on at least a part that can identify the subject. For example, the part that can identify the subject may be the nose, ears, mouth, eyebrows, facial structure, etc. In addition, the second process may include a process of image generation by AI (artificial intelligence).

For example, the eye area may be set in advance to a predetermined area used for alignment between the test eye and the ophthalmic device, or may be set based on the eye detected by image processing of the captured image. For example, the predetermined area used for alignment may be a predetermined range in which the test eye is aligned with respect to the optical axis of the examination optical system. For example, the captured image captured by the capture means (e.g., the image sensor 24) is displayed on the screen of the display means (e.g., the display 5), and the alignment guide indices (e.g., the guide frame GR and the frame GL) are displayed superimposed on the screen, and a predetermined range of the area corresponding to the guide indices to which the test eye is aligned may be set as the eye area. For example, when the eye area is set based on the detected eye, a predetermined range of the area may be set based on the corneal reflection bright spot formed on the test eye by the illumination light projected on the test eye, or based on the pupil detected by image processing. The eye region should be set so as not to include any other identifiable parts of the subject other than the eyes (e.g., nose, ears, mouth, eyebrows, facial structure).

Note that, for example, the output of the processed image may include at least one of the following: an output for storing the processed image in a storage means (e.g., memory 54), an output for displaying the processed image on a display means (e.g., display 5), an output for printing the processed image by a printing means (e.g., printer 61), and an output of the processed image to an external device (e.g., external device 63).

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

For example, the processing program of the ophthalmic device executed in the ophthalmic device used to examine the subject's eye is executed by the control unit, causing the ophthalmic device to execute a captured image acquisition step and a processing step. For example, the captured image acquisition step acquires a captured image of the subject's face including the subject's eye. For example, the processing step divides the captured image into an eye region where the eye to be examined is present and an unnecessary region not required for the examination, and obtains and outputs a processed image including the eye region that has been processed to make it impossible to identify the subject from the unnecessary region.

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

In this embodiment, an ophthalmic device 1 that objectively measures the ocular refractive power of a test eye using a photorefraction method is used as an example. Photorefraction method ocular refractive power measurement objectively obtains the ocular refractive power of a test eye from, for example, the proportion of light reflected from the fundus of the test eye at the pupil. In this embodiment, a handheld ophthalmic device 1 is used as an example.

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

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

Below, we will explain the measurement optical system 10, the illumination optical system 30, and the observation optical system 40, which are examples of examination optical systems arranged in the optometry section 2.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The examiner also moves the eye examination unit 2 in the Y direction so that the right eye ER and the left eye EL are positioned in the vertical center of the guide frames GR and GL.

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

As described above, the examiner can align the optometry unit 2 with the subject's eye by moving the optometry unit 2 in the XYZ directions while observing the screen display of the display 5. The control unit 50 also processes the captured image acquired by the image sensor 24, and detects the bright points KR and KL of the corneal reflection to determine whether the alignment state in the XY direction is appropriate. For example, first, two bright points appear in the captured image, and it is determined whether or not there are bright points within the guide frames GR and GL. Next, it is determined whether or not there are black areas around each bright point that are considered to be pupils (for example, black areas with a brightness below a predetermined value and extending over a predetermined range based on the bright points). If there are black areas around each bright point that are considered to be pupils, it is determined that the subject's eye has been detected in the captured image. If the black areas around the bright points are considered to be pupils, the pupil diameter is acquired by image processing and used for measurement. Then, the bright points KR and KL of the left and right eyes are determined based on the relative positions of the two bright points. That is, the bright point within the guide frame GR is determined to be the bright point KR of the right eye ER, and the bright point within the guide frame GL is determined to be the bright point KL of the left eye ELR. Next, the alignment state in the XY directions is determined by determining whether the two bright points KR and KL are within a predetermined tolerance range within the guide frames GR and GL, respectively.

The alignment state in the Z direction is determined based on the Z position (distance in the Z direction) detected by the distance detector 9. If the alignment states in the X, Y and Z directions are each within a predetermined tolerance range, it is determined that the alignment is complete.

When alignment in the XYZ directions is complete, the control unit 50 automatically issues a trigger signal to start measurement, or the measurement is performed when the examiner operates a measurement execution switch provided on the operation unit 52.

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

In FIG. 3, an example is described in which the eight sets of measurement light sources 13a to 13h are located on three concentric circles, the first concentric circle on which light source 13a1 is located, the second concentric circle on which light source 13a2 is located, and the third concentric circle on which light source 13a3 is located, with respect to optical axis L1 as the reference. However, if the measurement takes a long time, the measurement may be performed using a measurement light source on one concentric circle.

Figure 6 is a diagram explaining the measurement of ocular refractive power using the photorefraction method. In the photorefraction method, ocular refractive power A is calculated using the following formula 1 based on the ratio R (B/2r) of the pupil diameter 2r to the pupil radial dimension B of the bright crescent K within the pupil.

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

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

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

Here, the captured image on which the measurement results are calculated (a captured image of the subject's face captured by the image sensor 24) may contain not only the eyes of the measurement target (test target), but also the nose, mouth, ears, eyebrows, facial bones, and other parts of the subject's face, as shown in FIG. 7 (FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a captured image on which the measurement results are calculated). If these are included in the output image, it may be easier to identify the subject from them, raising the concern that protection of the subject's privacy may be hindered. In some cases, identifying the subject may lead to the misuse of the subject's personal information.

In the ophthalmologic device 1 disclosed herein, the control unit 50 separates the captured image into an eye region where the eye to be examined is located and an unnecessary region not required for the examination, processes the unnecessary region so that the subject cannot be identified, and the processed image including the eye region is made into a stored image. The stored image is then output.

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

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

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

When the print switch of the operation unit 52 is pressed, the measurement results and the saved image of the eye area EA, which is the processed image PID, are printed out as a report from the printer 61. The cut-out image of the eye area EA is attached to the printing paper of the report. This also makes it possible to judge whether the eye condition at the time of measurement was appropriate and the reliability of the measurement results. Since the eye area EA has a smaller area size than the photographed image 250, printing space can be saved compared to when the photographed image 250 is printed. Furthermore, if the same printing space as when the photographed image 250 is printed is prepared, the eye area EA can be printed enlarged, making it easier to visually check the eye condition at the time of measurement.

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

In addition, the measurement results and the saved image of the eye area EA, which is the processed image PID, are output to the external device 63 via the communication unit 56 by operating the data transfer switch of the operation unit 52. In this case, as in the above, the processed image PID in which the eye area EA has been cut out is output from the original captured image, allowing the subject's eye to be confirmed while making it difficult to identify the subject. This reduces the risk that the protection of the subject's privacy will be compromised. It also reduces the possibility that the subject's personal information will be misused.

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

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

Figure 9 is a diagram explaining the second processing for the unnecessary region UnA (processing that makes the subject's unique features visually unidentifiable). For example, a representative example of the second processing is a process of changing the luminance gradation of the unnecessary region UnA to a single color or multiple colors, such as painting the unnecessary region UnA black. The process of changing the luminance gradation can be easily performed in the same manner as the cut-out process of the eye region EA, without giving the control unit 50 a special processing function. Other examples of the second processing may include mosaic processing, blurring processing, processing of adding a color pattern, processing of overlaying another image, and processing of replacing with another image (for example, a model face image). In other words, these second processings can be said to be processes that deteriorate the image quality of the unnecessary region UnA compared to the original captured image 250.

The second process (processing to make the subject's unique features visually unidentifiable) does not have to be performed on the entirety of the unnecessary area UnA, but may be performed partially on at least parts of the subject that can be used to identify the individual (e.g., nose, ears, mouth, eyebrows, facial structure).

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

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

The examination optical system for examining (including measuring) the subject's eye may be one that examines one eye. In this case, as exemplified in JP 2022-80459 A, in an ophthalmic device having an imaging optical system that obtains a magnified image of the anterior segment of one eye, the image sensor 24 that photographs the subject may be a face imaging unit provided separately from the optical system that obtains a magnified image of the anterior segment.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Ophthalmic device 2 Eye examination unit 5 Display 10 Measurement optical system 10a Light projection optical system 10b Light receiving optical system 24 Image pickup element 40 Observation optical system 50 Control unit 54 Memory 61 Printer

Claims (8)

An ophthalmic apparatus used for examining a subject's eye, comprising:
An image capturing means for capturing an image of a face of a subject including the subject's eye;
A processing means,
The processing means divides the captured image into an eye area where the eye to be examined is located and an unnecessary area not required for the examination, and processes the unnecessary area so that the subject cannot be identified, thereby obtaining and outputting a processed image including the eye area. 2. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 1,
The ophthalmologic device is characterized in that the processing means obtains the processed image including the eye area by performing either a first process of cutting out the eye area from the captured image or a second process of making the subject's unique features visually unidentifiable on the unnecessary area. 2. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 1,
The ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing means obtains the processed image by performing a process of cutting out the eye region from the captured image, and discards image data of the unnecessary region. The ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 2,
The ophthalmologic apparatus is characterized in that the processing means performs, as the second processing, on the unnecessary area, at least one of processing including a processing of changing the luminance gradation of the image to a single color or multiple colors, a mosaic processing, a blurring processing, a processing of adding a color pattern, a processing of overlaying another image, and a processing of replacing it with another image. In the ophthalmic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An ophthalmic device characterized in that the eye area is pre-set in a specified area used for alignment between the test eye and the ophthalmic device, or is set based on an eye detected by image processing of the captured image. In the ophthalmic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The photographed image acquisition means includes a photographing means for photographing a face of a subject including an eye to be examined,
The ophthalmologic apparatus includes a measurement optical system for measuring ocular characteristics of a subject's eye, the measurement optical system having an image pickup element for receiving return light from the subject's eye of measurement light projected onto the subject's eye,
13. An ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the imaging means is also used as the image pickup element of the measurement optical system. In the ophthalmic apparatus according to claims 1 to 6,
An ophthalmic device, characterized in that the eye area is an area including at least the pupil of the eye to be examined. A processing program for an ophthalmic apparatus to be executed in an ophthalmic apparatus used for examining a subject's eye, the processing program being executed by a control unit,
An image capturing step of capturing an image of a face of a subject including an eye to be examined;
a processing step of obtaining and outputting a processed image including the eye region, the processed image being obtained by dividing the captured image into an eye region where the eye to be examined is present and an unnecessary region not required for the examination, and performing processing on the unnecessary region so that the subject cannot be identified;
An ophthalmic apparatus control program for causing the ophthalmic apparatus to execute the above-mentioned steps.

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