JP3455638B2 - Balance function inspection device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a balance function that can be suitably implemented to observe and record head movements and eye movements, analyze vestibular functions, and diagnose inner ear diseases such as balance disorders. Regarding inspection equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a typical prior art balanced function test apparatus 1. It is known that the eye movement originating from the inner ear is expressed according to a certain rule, and by observing the eye movement of the subject 5 by the equilibrium function testing device 1 as shown in FIG. 28, the disease can be diagnosed. Can contribute. Such eye movement is likely to occur in a dark-eyed state, and therefore, the goggles 2 for blocking visible light are conventionally equipped with the wearing tool 4 which is provided with the infrared CCD camera 3 on the head 6 of the subject 5. The anterior eye part of both eyes 7 is covered with a dark place, the infrared light emitting element 8 which is a light source provided in the goggle 2 is turned on to illuminate the anterior eye part with infrared rays, and the anterior eye part is the infrared CCD camera. The image is taken by 3.

The infrared CCD camera 3 outputs the charges generated by the image pickup to the line 9 as an image pickup signal. This image pickup signal is an analog signal, and after being digitized in the image processing apparatus 10 to which the line 9 is connected, signal processing is performed to obtain a predetermined general-purpose signal, for example, NTSC system or PA.
The L-type signal is converted and displayed on the screen 13 of the monitor television 12 connected by the line 11, and the image is recorded on the video tape or the video disc by the video recorder 14, and the subject 5 displayed on the screen 13 It is used as a diagnostic and research material by observing the eye movements and the head and body postures.

Another prior art similar to the prior art shown in FIG. 28 is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication 3-2243. In this prior art, a half mirror is provided in front of the anterior ocular segment of the goggles 2 and its infrared reflected light is imaged by a video camera composed of a CCD, and an image pickup signal from this video camera is amplified and a central processing unit. It is configured to display on the cathode ray tube CRT via the CPU.

Still another prior art similar to the prior art shown in FIG. 28 is, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-16575.
No. 9 publication. In this prior art, light emitted from an infrared light emitting diode provided as an illuminating lamp to the goggles 2 is imaged by a television camera through a mirror, and at this time, the eye mask is taken by the weight of the goggles from the subject. In order to prevent the problem of biting into the face or clogging of the eyelid, a configuration is disclosed in which the contact pressure between the eye mask and the anterior segment of the eye can be adjusted by the eye mask contact pressure adjusting means. ing.

[0006] Further, in medical treatment for imbalance, such as dizziness, which is carried out on a daily basis, pathological eye movements at rest, such as gazing, head position, and head position change nystagmus, or after applying a load to the vestibule. The main focus is on observing and recording, and no functional tests with quantification have been performed.
In addition, as a functional test, the temperature nystagmus test, which is a so-called caloric test, which observes the eye movement when lymphatic flow is caused in the outer semicircular canal by giving water of a temperature different from body temperature to the outer ear, has a certain degree of quantitativeness. It holds a solid position as a functional test of the peripheral vestibule in that it can independently evaluate the left and right semicircular canal functions, but the stimulation is non-physiological, that is, only one semicircular canal becomes very slow. There is a problem in that sufficient quantification cannot be obtained due to large individual differences due to stimuli that are inexperienced in daily life, such as receiving continuous stimuli. Moreover, it is almost impossible to perform the above-mentioned thermal nystagmus test frequently during daily dizziness treatment. In other words, there is a problem in the commonly performed daily dizziness clinic that a functional test with quantitative performance that is frequently performed, such as a hearing test of hearing, is lacking.

However, conventionally, when a physiological rotational stimulation is applied to the head, the eyeball is displaced opposite to the head for stabilizing the visual field, so-called vestibular ocular reflex (abbreviated as VOR: Vest).
ibulo-ocular reflex) is well known, and there are numerous reports and findings on the anatomical communication and physiological dynamics of this reflex, which are highly quantifiable and have little individual difference. It is known to be an inspection.
However, in order to measure this VOR, conventionally, an electro-nystagmus test (abbreviated as ENG: Electronystagmogra) is performed in an anechoic chamber.
m), it is necessary to simultaneously record and analyze the head position information from the potentiometer provided on the swivel chair, and doing this during daily clinical practice requires a lot of troublesome work, and It has not become popular. Further, there is no information for evaluating the suppression function by the fixation, only by observing the eye movement captured by the infrared camera, and therefore, there is no technique capable of observing and recording the information about the fixation suppression function.

[0008]

In the prior art shown in FIG. 28, the infrared CCD camera 3 has a built-in vertical transfer CCD (Charge Coupled Device).
Then, the signal charge for one pixel is sequentially taken out from the horizontal transfer CCD to form an image pickup signal for one field, and the image pickup signal for one field is transferred in 1/60 seconds in accordance with the standard TV signal.

Such an image processing apparatus 10 is expensive and difficult for general medical practitioners and clinics to purchase easily. The line 9 that electrically connects the infrared CCD camera 3 and the image signal processing device 10 is a CCD
In addition to the signal line that guides the image pickup signal from the image processing apparatus 10 to the image processing apparatus 10, a power supply line for supplying driving power to the CCD, a power supply line of the infrared light emitting element 8 and the like are built in one cable. There is a problem that noise easily enters the image pickup signal line and that the signal waveform of the image pickup signal is easily distorted.

In the prior art disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-2243, the image pickup signal output from the video camera is provided separately from the video camera as in the prior art shown in FIG. Central processing unit CPU
Since the image signal is processed by the image signal, therefore, an expensive image processing device must be purchased separately from the wearing tool equipped with the video camera, and there is a problem of poor economy.
In addition, there is a problem that noise may be mixed into the image pickup signal or distortion may occur in the image pickup signal during the transfer of the image pickup signal from the video camera to the central processing unit, and a clear image may not be obtained. is there.

Further, in the prior art disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-165759, a heavy screw goggle including a television camera and a mirror is rotatably angularly connected to a headband by a set screw. When the head of the subject is displaced in order to perform a shake inspection, the goggles may be displaced, so that the image displayed on the monitor TV or the like by the TV camera is blurred, and an accurate inspection is performed. The problem arises that you cannot do it.

Furthermore, in each of the prior arts shown in FIG. 28, Jpn. There is a need for an equilibrium function test device that cannot easily recognize the relationship between exercise and head position changes, especially the semicircular canals, and can improve the accuracy and ease of diagnosis.

Further, in the above-mentioned prior art of medical treatment for imbalance, a test method for observing a reaction due to a non-physiological stimulus such as a caloric test has a large individual difference and is insufficient in quantification except for discussing a left-right difference. And also EN
The G inspection has the problems that the equipment scale is large, the inspection time is long, and the burden on the examiner and the examinee is large. Moreover, the vestibular function cannot be easily tested during general medical care such as outpatient treatment, and in addition to the normal VOR, the natural visual vestibular ocular reflex (abbreviated as VisVOR: Visual-vestibulo-ocular re
flex) and fixation vestibular ocular reflex (abbreviated name VOR-FIX: Fi)
xationsuppression of the Vestibulo-ocular reflex)
There is no simple method for performing the same, and there is no technique for simultaneously recording the eye movement and the movement of the head by a routine method and reproducing and analyzing them at a later date.

An object of the present invention is to provide an equilibrium function testing apparatus which eliminates image blurring regardless of changes in the head position of a subject and enables inexpensive eye movements to be photographed with clear images. That is.

Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily recognize the relationship between eye movements, changes in head position, and the semicircular canals, to easily quantify vestibular function, and to improve the accuracy and ease of diagnosis. It is an object of the present invention to provide a balanced function testing device that is made possible.

Still another object of the present invention is an infrared CCD.
A vestibular function test is performed quantitatively and easily by observing and recording head movements and eye movements when a head is stimulated by combining an image sensor such as a camera with an angular velocity sensor. It is an object of the present invention to provide an equilibrium function test device capable of performing the above.

Still another object of the present invention is to record the test result in a video recorder or the like and reproduce it at a later date for use in analysis of the vestibular function, especially in medical examinations of a subject and a remote place where movement is difficult. It is an object of the present invention to provide an equilibrium function inspection device with improved convenience.

Still another object of the present invention is to examine not only the vestibular ocular reflex but also the visual vestibular ocular reflex and the visual fixation vestibular ocular reflex in addition to the vestibular ocular reflex, thereby suppressing not only the vestibular function but also the central nervous system. It is an object of the present invention to provide an equilibrium function test device capable of evaluating a function.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an equilibrium function inspection device capable of observing and recording a caloric inspection in a shorter time, simply and using simple equipment.

[0020]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mounting tool which is mounted on a subject's face to cover the anterior eye part, and a light source which generates illumination light for illuminating the anterior eye part. An image sensor for imaging the anterior segment of the eye, and an image processing means for signal processing the image signal from the image sensor to output a predetermined general-purpose image signal are provided, and the movement of the head of the subject is imaged and The equilibrium function inspection device is characterized in that it includes a head photographing means for outputting an image signal. According to the present invention, the light source, the image pickup device, and the image processing means are provided corresponding to the left and right eyes or one eye in the wearing tool that is worn on the face of the subject. The light source illuminates the anterior segment of the subject with illumination light, and the reflected light is imaged by an image sensor. The image signal from the image sensor is a predetermined general-purpose image signal, such as NTSC or PAL. Are converted into image signals. Therefore, the captured image can be directly displayed on the display means such as a monitor television by using the image signal output from the image processing means. This eliminates the need to separately purchase an expensive image processing device as described in connection with the above-mentioned conventional technique, and the image signal of an analog value output from an image sensor is processed by the image processing through a signal line. Since it is not necessary to transfer the image to the device, noise is not mixed into the image pickup signal and the signal waveform is not distorted, and a clear image can be displayed. Moreover, since the light source, the image pickup device, and the image processing means can be integrally mounted on a single substrate to form a unit, the unit is lightweight even when mounted on the mounting tool, and the image is blurred due to changes in the subject's head position. There is no possibility of occurrence. Further, the head photographing means can be realized by, for example, a commercially available video camera that photographs the movement of the head of the subject and outputs the image signal, and the image signal can be displayed by an existing monitor television or other display means. With the image of the anterior segment of the subject based on the image signal from the image processing means 1
It can be displayed simultaneously on one screen or on each screen of an individually prepared monitor TV. In this way, it is possible to simultaneously recognize the movement of the eyeball of one or both eyes of the anterior segment of the eye and the movement of the head of the subject, so that the eye movement and the head position can be recognized in association with each other. This can improve the accuracy and ease of diagnosis.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a light source for generating illumination light for illuminating the anterior eye part and an anterior eye part are imaged by a wearing tool which is worn on the face of a subject and covers the anterior eye part. An image pickup device and an image processing means for signal-processing an image pickup signal from the image pickup device and outputting a predetermined general-purpose image signal are provided, and the wearing tool includes:
The equilibrium function inspection device is characterized in that a pseudo third semicircular canal, which is formed in a pseudo shape corresponding to the semicircular canal, is provided in correspondence with the position of the semicircular canal of the subject with the wearing tool attached. In the present invention according to claim 4, the wearing tool is provided with a pseudo third semicircular canal corresponding to the position of the semicircular canal of the subject in a state where the wearing tool is worn, the pseudo third semicircular canal corresponding to the semicircular canal. Is characterized by. According to the invention, the wearing tool is provided with a pseudo semicircular canal corresponding to the position of the semicircular canal of the subject. The position of this semicircular canal may be either on both sides or one side of the wearing tool when the subject is wearing the wearing tool, and the position of each semicircular canal on the inner ear on both the left and right sides of the testing subject. That is, the outer semicircular canals, the first semicircular canals, and the second semicircular canals are arranged in correspondence with each other on the left and right. In this way, the provision of the pseudo-three semicircular canals in the wearing tool is that the ampulla of each semicircular canal is mainly sensitive to the rotational acceleration stimulation of the head in the plane of the semicircular canal, which excites the vestibular nerve, and the vestibular nucleus, The vestibular ocular reflex, in which the corresponding ocular muscle contracts and extends through the oculomotor nucleus to cause the eyeball to be displaced, is known medically. This is because the meaning of is easily recognized. Therefore, in the case of providing the pseudo semicircular canal in the wearing tool, the examiner simultaneously recognizes the movement of the eyeball displayed on the monitor TV and the pseudo semicircular canal of the wearing tool mounted on the subject,
The relationship between the subject's head position and eye movement can be easily and accurately recognized. Further, in the configuration of the present invention according to claim 2, when the wearing tool is provided with a pseudo third semicircular canal, the head of the subject is photographed by the head photographing means, and thus the screen of the monitor television prepared separately. The pseudo semicircular canal of the wearing tool worn on the head of the subject can be recognized simultaneously with the eye movement. Furthermore, since the wearing tool is provided with a detector that detects the movement of the head together with the pseudo-three semicircular canals, the movement of the head of the subject is displayed as a bar graph based on the detection signal from the detector, for example, the movement of the eyeball. It is possible to simultaneously recognize this display together with the movement of the pseudo third semicircular canal. Therefore, the examiner can visually grasp the actual movement of the head of the subject to grasp the stimulated portion of the pseudo semicircular canal and the like to quantitatively grasp the movement of the head, which is more accurate and reliable. It is possible to make various diagnoses.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the wearing tool detects any of velocity, acceleration, angular velocity and angular acceleration with respect to the movement of the head in three dimensions and outputs detection signals in orthogonal three axis directions. Is provided. According to the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the present invention according to claim 1, a detector for detecting the movement of the head is provided in the wearing tool. Therefore, based on a detection signal from the detector, the detector is separately provided. It can be visually displayed on the screen of a monitor TV prepared for example by a bar graph, etc. In this way, it is possible to simultaneously recognize the eye movement and the movement of the wearing equipment by the detector, that is, the movement of the head. , Which can improve the accuracy and ease of diagnosis.

[0023]

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the wearing tool is provided with an image pickup position adjusting means for adjusting the image pickup position by moving at least the image pickup element in a predetermined direction. According to the present invention, in the configuration of the present invention according to claim 1, since the wearing tool is provided with the imaging position adjusting means, it is possible to move the imaging element to the center of the eyeball and clearly image the entire movement of the eyeball. Adjustments can be made to allow Such an image pickup position adjusting means, when the image pickup device is provided corresponding to both eyes, a direction in which the image pickup devices approach / separate from each other, a vertical direction perpendicular to the approaching / separating direction, Also, each image sensor may be provided in three directions of approaching / distinguishing from the anterior segment in the mounted state,
Alternatively, the image pickup position may be adjusted only in at least the directions in which the respective image pickup elements approach / separate from each other among the three directions. By arranging the image pickup devices so that the image pickup devices can be moved toward and away from each other, it is possible to accurately position the image pickup positions from adults to children according to the difference in the distance between the eyes.
If the imaging position can be adjusted in the direction of approaching / distinguishing from the anterior segment of the eye, the pupil can be observed in the expanded state, and the range of movement of the eyeball can be covered in the separated state. It becomes possible to take an image. Further, when the imaging position can be adjusted in the vertical direction, it is possible to finely adjust by moving each image sensor in the vertical direction without displacing the wearing tool while the subject is wearing the wearing tool. It will be possible. Such an imaging position adjusting means can be similarly applied to a configuration in which the light source, the imaging element, and the image processing means are provided on only one of the left and right eyes of the wearing tool. It is possible to adjust the imaging position in a desired manner. Further, such an image pickup position adjusting means can adjust the image pickup position to a position desired by the examiner even with the configurations of the respective inventions according to claims 2 to 4.
For example, even when the subject has a strabismus, the direction of the deviation can be grasped in advance by the examiner, and the convenience of diagnosis is improved.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the mounting tool has a property of shielding visible light, the light source is an infrared light emitting element that emits infrared rays, and the imaging element is an infrared ray detecting element that detects infrared rays. It is characterized by being composed of an element. According to the present invention, the anterior segment is made a dark place by the wearing tool,
Even if infrared rays are emitted from the infrared light emitting element, the state of the dark place is maintained, and in this state, the anterior eye part is imaged by the infrared ray detecting element. With this, at the time of eye movement measurement,
Accurate measurement of the nystagmus movement can be performed with less nystagmus suppression by fixation. With such imaging of eye movements by infrared rays, it is possible to observe accurate eye movements in a dark place with any of the configurations of claims 1 to 5, evaluate vestibular function, and identify lesions. In doing so, it is extremely important that the eye movement is not affected by external light, which can contribute to the elucidation of the disease.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, one or both of the image of the anterior segment based on the image signal from the image processing means and the image showing the movement of the head based on the image signal from the head photographing means. Is selectively included in the display means. According to the present invention, in the configuration of the present invention according to claim 2, either one or both of the image of the anterior segment from the image processing unit and the image showing the movement of the head by the head photographing unit are selectively selected. It can be displayed by the display means.
In this way, the display means can selectively display one or both of the anterior ocular segment image and the head movement image, so that the display mode can be selectively used according to the examiner's request, Diagnostic convenience can be improved.

According to the present invention, the image of the anterior segment based on the image signal from the image processing means, and the velocity in the orthogonal three-axis directions based on the detection signal from the detector for detecting the movement of the head, It is characterized by including display means for selectively displaying either one or both of images showing any one of acceleration, angular velocity and angular acceleration. According to the present invention, in the configuration of the present invention according to claim 3, the display means has a velocity in three orthogonal axes directions based on a detection signal from an anterior ocular segment image and a detector for detecting movement of the head,
Either one or both of the images showing the acceleration, the angular velocity, and the angular acceleration can be selectively displayed. With this, it is possible to recognize the movement of the eyeball and the movement of the head simultaneously on one screen or only one of them, and by this, the movement of the head of the subject and the movement of the eyeball are associated with each other and quantitatively determined. It can be recognized and the convenience in diagnosis can be improved.

The present invention according to claim 9 is characterized in that the display means displays the reaction site of the semicircular canal based on a detection signal from a detector for detecting the movement of the head. According to the present invention, in the configuration of the present invention according to claim 8, since the display means is configured to display the reaction site of the semicircular canal based on the detection signal from the detector, the subject has the display means. Diagnosis by easily recognizing the difference between the reaction site of the semicircular canal, which should be reacted by the movement of the head, and the site of the semicircular canal, which may be the origin of the eye movement of the subject. By doing so, the presence or absence of a disease, the identification of lesions, the diagnosis of the disease, or the observation of the treatment progress can be easily carried out in the subject.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the wearing tool detects any of velocity, acceleration, angular velocity and angular acceleration with respect to the movement of the head in three dimensions and outputs detection signals in orthogonal three axis directions. According to the position of the subject's semicircular canal in a state where the detector and the wearing tool are attached, at least one of the pseudo semicircular canals formed in a pseudo shape corresponding to the semicircular canal is provided.
According to the present invention, in the configuration of the present invention according to claim 1, the wearing tool is provided with at least one of a detector for detecting the movement of the head and a pseudo semicircular canal. In the case where the fitting is provided with only a pseudo third semicircular canal, the examiner:
While checking the image of the anterior segment imaged by the light source and imaged by the image sensor on the screen of the existing display means such as a monitor TV prepared in advance, at the same time, by the pseudo-third canal of the wearing tool worn by the subject. The inclination of the semicircular canal associated with the movement of the subject's head can be confirmed in association with the movement of the eyeball displayed on the screen. This can improve the accuracy and ease of the diagnosis based on the vestibular ocular reflex and the like. Further, when only the detector for detecting the movement of the head is provided in the wearing tool, the movement of the head position of the subject, that is, the movements in the three axial directions are determined by any one of velocity, acceleration, angular velocity and angular acceleration. It can be quantitatively displayed by the existing image processing means and the display means such as a monitor television based on the image signal from the existing image processing means. Further, by providing both the above-mentioned pseudo semicircular canal and the detector in the wearing tool, the examiner can easily embody and recognize the origin of the eye movement on the semicircular canal by the pseudo semicircular canal while grasping the change in head position quantitatively. Therefore, the accuracy and ease of diagnosis can be further improved.

The present invention according to claim 11 provides the invention according to claims 1 to 1.
In the configuration of the invention described in any one of 0,
It is characterized by being made of a dark black opaque synthetic resin or rubber having flexibility and elasticity. According to the present invention, since the wearing tool is made of a dark black opaque synthetic resin or rubber having flexibility and elasticity, when the wearing tool is worn on the face of the subject, the wearing tool is made of synthetic resin or rubber. Due to the flexibility and elasticity, the wearing tool can be appropriately deformed according to the facial shape, and the anterior segment can be covered with the wearing tool in close contact with the face. By bringing the wearing tool into close contact with the face in this manner, a gap is created between the face and the wearing tool, and external light is prevented from entering the anterior segment.
In this way, the external light is prevented from entering the anterior segment of the eye by preventing the image pickup element from receiving reflected light of the anterior segment of the eye and the external light and failing to obtain a clear image. This is to prevent the involuntary movement of the eyeball by external light and the inability to perform an accurate nystagmus test. In particular, flicker, blinking, intensity, and color of external light induce eye movements unrelated to the subject's head position, reducing reproducibility of nystagmus with respect to the head position and inducing that nystagmus. This may interfere with the identification of the origin of nystagmus, which identifies which part of the semicircular canal in which it is operating. Therefore, in the present invention, as described above, the wearing tool is in close contact with the subject's face to prevent the occurrence of a gap, and a dark black opaque synthetic resin or rubber is used to block external light, thereby ensuring reliability. It becomes possible to obtain highly stable nystagmus examination information.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the construction of the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the mounting tool is made of a material in which an antibacterial agent is mixed with synthetic resin or rubber, or the surface of the synthetic resin or rubber is coated with the antibacterial agent. It is characterized by being made of a material. According to the present invention, since the wearing device is made of synthetic resin or rubber having antibacterial properties, it suppresses or eliminates the growth of bacteria that are infected through the skin of the subject's face, hands and fingers, Can prevent infection. In addition, by selecting a material that has chemical resistance in addition to the above-mentioned antibacterial property, this wearing tool prevents deterioration and deterioration due to pharmaceuticals even if the wearing tool is wiped and disinfected with a disinfectant such as alcohol. You can

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided means for observing an eye movement by signal-processing an image pickup signal from the image pickup device, and the wearing tool has a velocity, an acceleration and an angle with respect to a movement of the head. It is possible to observe and record the vestibular ocular reflex by connecting a sensor that detects either angular velocity or angular acceleration, processing the image signal of the eye movement when the head is moved and the output signal of the sensor. It is characterized by being configured as follows. According to the present invention, in the configuration of the present invention according to claim 1 or 2, the image pickup signal of the eye movement taken by the image pickup device such as an infrared CCD camera and the output signal of the sensor for detecting the movement of the head are provided. Process the eye movement and any of the velocity, acceleration, angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration of the head movement for simultaneous display or reproduction on a monitor TV, for example, and to measure the balance function quantitatively and objectively. This makes it possible to make observations and diagnose equilibrium function by vestibular ocular reflex based on highly reliable data.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the structure of the thirteenth aspect of the invention, a direction perpendicular to the straight line connecting the anterior segment and the image pickup element is projected on the wearing tool. A half mirror is provided, and a mirror is further provided in the direction perpendicular to the half mirror so that the eyeball can naturally observe the external situation, and the eye movement can be observed by the observation means, and the eye movement when the head is moved. The image pickup signal and the output signal of the sensor are processed so that the natural visual vestibular reflex can be observed and recorded. According to the present invention, a half mirror that projects a direction orthogonal to the eye part is provided between the eye part and the image sensor on a straight line connecting the eye part and the image sensor, and a mirror is further provided in the orthogonal direction. Is provided so that the external situation can be viewed naturally, the eye movement is imaged by an image sensor, and the image pickup signal of the eye movement when the head is moved and the output signal of the sensor are processed to obtain a natural vision. It becomes possible to observe and record the vestibulo-ocular reflex quantitatively and easily.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the structure of the fourteenth aspect of the invention, the mirror is housed in the wearing tool, or the mirror is a part of the exterior of the wearing tool, and the vestibular reflex is provided. It is characterized in that it can be observed and recorded. According to the present invention, it is possible to switch to a state under a dark place by accommodating the mirror in the wearing tool and jumping up the half mirror or without jumping up. The half mirror is
In order to reduce the attenuation of the amount of light received by the image sensor, it is preferable to jump up and evacuate from the image capturing path of the image sensor at the time of image capture, but increase the sensitivity of the image sensor or increase the light emission intensity of the light source. Alternatively, by raising both of them, it is possible to avoid the attenuation of the amount of light received by the image pickup device, so that even if the half mirror is present in the image pickup path, no problem occurs. In this way, the vestibular ocular reflex test and the natural visual vestibular ocular reflex test can be individually performed by easily switching between the natural view state and the dark place. Further, in the present invention, the mirror is provided so as to form a part of the exterior of the wearing tool. That is, forming part of the exterior may be configured, for example, so that the mounting tool is provided with the mirror so as to be openable and closable, and the mirror can be jumped up or closed by an opening / closing operation. By thus providing the mirror so as to form a part of the exterior of the wearing tool, the lid is opened when the mirror is used, and the lid is closed when the mirror is not used to prevent intrusion of dust and the like. be able to.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, a target object capable of fixed point viewing is arranged in the mounting tool instead of the mirror, or a target object capable of fixed point viewing is attached. A structure that forms a part of the exterior of the tool, and is configured so that the image signal of the eye movement when the head is moved and the output signal of the sensor can be processed to observe and record the fixation vestibular ocular reflex. It is characterized by being done. According to the present invention, the target object capable of fixed-point viewing is provided in the wearing tool instead of the mirror, and thus the target object is reflected by the half mirror and can be recognized by the subject. The vestibular ocular reflex of the fixation can be examined in this way, and the fixation inhibitory function can be evaluated by taking into consideration the data of the ocular reflex of natural vision. Further, in the present invention, the target object capable of fixed-point viewing is provided so as to form a part of the exterior of the wearing tool. That the target object forms a part of the exterior of the wearing tool means, for example, that the target object is openably and closably provided at a position where the subject can visually recognize the wearing tool by the mirror, and the fixation vestibular reflex is observed. The equilibrium function test can be performed.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the sixteenth aspect of the invention, the target capable of fixed-point viewing is configured so that an arbitrary image can be displayed. According to the present invention, a configuration capable of displaying an arbitrary image can be specifically realized by, for example, a liquid crystal display element. With such a liquid crystal display element, a target subject to be fixed-point-viewed can be displayed by patterns, characters, and codes, and further, its position and size can be adapted to the visual characteristics such as the visual acuity of the subject. . Therefore, it is possible to analyze the fixation vestibular ocular reflex according to the target object projected by the liquid crystal display element, not only the target object being constant, and the convenience in inspection is improved.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the sixteenth aspect of the invention, the target object capable of fixed-point viewing is a small illuminator. According to the present invention, a small illuminator is used as a target capable of fixed-point viewing, and as the small illuminator, for example, a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode and electroluminescence can be used. Since such a light emitting element can change its lighting and extinction, brightness, color, etc. as appropriate according to the visual characteristics of the subject or the inspection purpose, the fixation vestibule according to such changes. The eye reflex can be observed, and the test result can be analyzed from various angles, which improves the convenience of the test.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the constitution of the fifteenth or sixteenth aspect of the invention, the half mirror is
It is characterized by being configured to jump up. According to the invention, since the half mirror is displaceably provided from the front of the image sensor to the outside of the image pickup path, the half mirror is not required as in the case of performing a vestibular function test by vestibular ocular reflection in a dark place. When the half mirror is used, such as when retracting the half mirror out of the imaging path and performing an examination of the equilibrium function by the natural and vestibular reflexes and the visual fixation of the eye when the half mirror is used. It can be displaced forward. In the state where the half mirror is retracted out of the imaging path in this way, since the half mirror does not exist in front of the image sensor, the reflected light of the anterior segment illuminated by the light source is not attenuated by the half mirror, The eye part can be clearly imaged by the image sensor.

The present invention according to claim 20 provides the invention according to claims 13 to.
In addition to the configuration of the invention described in any one of 19, the output signal of a sensor that detects any of velocity, acceleration, angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration with respect to the movement of the head is processed and recorded in a video recorder together with an imaging signal. However, it is characterized in that the recorded contents of the video recorder can be reproduced to observe and record the vestibular ocular reflex, the natural visual vestibular ocular reflex, or the fixation visual vestibular ocular reflex. According to the present invention, any one of velocity, acceleration, angle, angular velocity, and angular acceleration with respect to the movement of the head is detected by a sensor, an output signal of the sensor is processed, and recorded in a video recorder together with an image pickup signal by an image pickup element. This can be reproduced to perform any one of the above-mentioned vestibular ocular reflex test, natural visual vestibular ocular reflex, and fixation visual vestibular ocular reflex.
In particular, the speed with respect to the movement of the head in the video recorder,
Since the information on the movement of any one of acceleration, angle, angular velocity, and angular acceleration and the information on the movement of the eyeball by the image sensor are recorded, the information can be repeatedly observed, which is convenient for diagnosis. Is improved.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the twenty-first aspect, the output signal to the sensor is modulated and recorded in the audio band of the video recorder, and demodulated during reproduction. According to the invention, the output signal of the sensor for detecting any of the speed, acceleration, angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration with respect to the movement of the head is modulated and recorded in the audio band of the video recorder. The output signal of the sensor recorded in the voice band can be demodulated and displayed simultaneously with the image. As a result, the correspondence between the movement of the eyeball and any one of the velocity, acceleration, angle, angular velocity, and angular acceleration based on the output signal of the sensor can be easily recognized, and diagnostic convenience is improved.

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the thirteenth aspect, Frenzel spectacles which do not have an element for imaging the movement of the eyeball are provided with a velocity, an acceleration, an angle, an angular velocity and an angle with respect to the movement of the head. It is characterized in that a sensor for detecting any of the accelerations is connected so that the eye movement when the head is moved can be observed and recorded. According to the present invention, a sensor is provided in the Frenzel spectacles conventionally used for a head position conversion nystagmus test, etc., and the eye movement and the output signal of the sensor when the head is moved are configured to be recorded and observed. Therefore, it is possible to perform an examination of the vestibular ocular reflex in a natural vision state that does not have so-called fixed-point vision by the Frenzel spectacles, and the present invention is preferably carried out also on such conventional Frenzel spectacles, and the quantitative determination is made with a simple configuration. It is possible to perform a balanced function test.

The present invention as set forth in claim 23, in addition to the configuration of the invention as set forth in claim 13, provides air nozzles that discharge air from the nozzle tips and can be inserted into the ear canal, and air discharged from the nozzle tips of the air nozzles. Temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the eardrum due to infrared rays or infrared rays, air temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the air based on the temperature information of the temperature sensor, and a pump for supplying air to the air nozzle. It is characterized in that the thermal nystagmus test can be performed by observing the eye movements when applying the. According to the present invention, the air supplied from the pump is guided to the air nozzle and discharged from the tip of the nozzle in the ear canal. The temperature of the air discharged from the tip of the air nozzle or the temperature of the eardrum is detected by a temperature sensor. The air temperature control means controls the temperature of the air discharged from the nozzle tip based on the temperature information of the discharged air or the eardrum detected by the temperature sensor. The air nozzle is insertable into the ear canal, the wearing device is attached to the anterior segment of the subject, and hot air of a predetermined temperature is discharged from the nozzle tip of the air nozzle to give a temperature stimulus to the ear canal. A thermal nystagmus test, that is, a caloric test can be performed by observing eye movements. Such a thermal nystagmus test is performed by opening the eyes in the dark. For example, warm air of about 30 to 44 ° C. is injected into the external auditory meatus, and the nystagmus induced thereby is observed.
The disease factor can be estimated by the amplitude and the rate of nystagmus phase. Such a thermal nystagmus test, when the evoked thermal nystagmus reaches the maximum, performs a single point gaze from the dark to the photopic opening, and how the rate of nystagmus slow phase changes. To observe. In healthy individuals, nystagmus, which was induced under non-gaze, is generally suppressed under photopic gaze, and it is known that the inhibitory effect is reduced in cerebellar disorders. In performing such a temperature nystagmus test, the temperature of the air discharged from the air nozzle can be freely controlled by the temperature control means, and therefore, the strength of the thermal stimulus can be adjusted to suit the subject. Can be stimulated.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the twenty-third aspect, the timing when the temperature nystagmus is applied and the temperature in the external auditory meatus or the eardrum are processed individually or in combination, It is characterized in that it is configured so that it can be recorded and reproduced in a video recorder together with an image pickup signal to observe and record eye movements. According to the invention, the timing when the air is discharged from the nozzle tip of the air nozzle into the ear canal and the temperature nystagmus is applied, and the temperature of the ear canal or the eardrum by the temperature sensor are recorded in the video recorder together with the imaging signal. Record. At this time, the timing when the temperature nystagmus is applied and the temperature in the external auditory meatus or the eardrum are processed individually or simultaneously, and at the time of reproduction, the image of the eye movement and the timing when the thermal stimulation is applied and the internal ear canal. Alternatively, the temperature of the eardrum can be observed simultaneously or individually. As a result, the nystagmus induced by the temperature stimulus and the temperature in the external auditory meatus or the eardrum can be grasped at the same time, and the duration of the nystagmus, the amplitude, the rate of nystagmus slowing phase, etc. It can be associated and easily observed.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the twenty-third or twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, the timing when the temperature stimulus is applied and the temperature in the ear canal or the eardrum are processed individually or in combination. It is characterized in that it is modulated and recorded in the audio band of the video recorder and demodulated during reproduction. According to the present invention, the timing when the thermal stimulus is applied and the temperature in the external auditory meatus or the eardrum are processed individually or in combination, and modulated and recorded in the audio band of the video recorder. Such audio band recording can be reproduced in synchronization with the image pickup signal, and even if the timing and the temperature are individually processed, the data indicating the timing and the data indicating the temperature need to be synchronized with each other. Without
Further, it is not necessary to synchronize the data indicating the timing and the data indicating the temperature with the image pickup signal, and the configuration for signal processing is simple and the configuration does not become complicated.

[0045]

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a balanced function testing device 21 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the balanced function testing device 21 as seen from below in FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a side view of the right eyeball photographing device 21 viewed from the right side of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the equilibrium function inspection device 21.
The equilibrium function test device 21 of the present embodiment basically includes a mounting tool 22 that is mounted on the subject's face to cover the anterior ocular segment of both left and right eyes,
Four light sources 23a on each of the left and right, which are provided on the wearing tool 22 and generate infrared rays in the invisible region as illumination light for illuminating the anterior segment,
23b and a pair of infrared CCD cameras 24a and 24b, which are provided in the wearing tool 22 and are image pickup devices for picking up an anterior segment of the eye.
And the infrared CCD cameras 24 provided on the wearing tool 22.
a pair of image processing means 25a and 25b for processing the image pickup signals from a and 24b and outputting a predetermined general-purpose image signal.

The wearing tool 22 includes an eye mask 26 that covers the anterior segment of the subject and both side portions 27a and 27b of the eye mask 26.
And a head belt 28 to which both ends in the longitudinal direction are fixed. The head belt 28 has two belt portions 29a,
29b, and the other longitudinal end on the side opposite to the part fixed to the both side parts 27a, 27b of each belt part 29a, 29b has, for example, a surface fastener called a magic tape or an engagement metal called a buckle. The tool belts are detachably connected to each other, and the length of the head belt 28 can be adjusted according to the size of the head of the subject. Such belt portions 29a, 29b
Is made of, for example, soft rubber, which is flexible and elastic and has chemical resistance so that alcohol disinfection can be performed.

The eye mask 26, which is also called goggles, is formed in a substantially spectacles shape, has chemical resistance so that alcohol disinfection can be performed, and is closely attached to the face of the subject at the time of wearing. Therefore, it is made of a dark black opaque synthetic resin or soft rubber having appropriate flexibility and elasticity. The mounting portion 22 including the eye mask 26 and the head belt 28 is a flexible and elastic material, specifically, a film of aluminosilicate containing metal ions having a bactericidal action on the surface of silica gel. The antibacterial composition having the above can be realized by the antibacterial synthetic resin or the antibacterial rubber mixed at the time of molding the synthetic resin or the rubber. The silica gel contains SiO ₂ as a main component,
It is an amorphous porous substance represented by the general formula (SiO ₂ ) x · (H ₂ O) y, and is fine particles having a particle size of, for example, about 3 to 5 μm. Since such silica gel is porous, it has a large surface area, its surface is extremely active, and a metal having a bactericidal action such as silver, copper, zinc, mercury, tin, lead, bismuth, cadmium, and chromium. Ions can be attached almost uniformly.

As the synthetic resin, a silicon resin having excellent heat resistance and cold resistance, chemical resistance, water resistance and chemical stability is used. Silica gel to which metal ions having a bactericidal action as the above antibacterial composition are attached,
An eye mask 26 and a head belt 28 as a resin molded product having antibacterial properties are obtained by using a mixture of 1 to 5% by weight with respect to the entire resin, which is mixed at the time of resin molding.
Can be formed.

As another embodiment of the present invention, as the synthetic resin, in addition to the above-mentioned silicone resin, for example, polyamide resin or polyimide resin having heat resistance and chemical resistance and flexibility is used. be able to. As the rubber material, natural silicone rubber or fluororubber can be used.

As another embodiment of the present invention, as an antibacterial synthetic resin or an antibacterial rubber, titania (Ti
Fine particles of O ₂ ) are added to 0.5 when molding synthetic resin or rubber.
It may be a mixture of ˜1.0% by weight. The above titania may be melted and heated as a fine powder of 5 to 50 μm by a flame sprayer, and may be sprayed and adhered to the surface of synthetic resin or rubber. In this case, the thickness of the titania layer is 2
It is selected from 0 to 500 μm. When the titania layer is formed on the surface of the synthetic resin or rubber in this way, the titania acts as an optical semiconductor, the electrons in the valence band of titania are excited and move to the conduction band, and at the same time holes are released in the valence band. leave. The electrons in the conduction band move in the titania layer and are discharged on the metal surface to generate hydrogen. Also, the holes in titania are
At the interface, it reacts with water to generate an active hydroxyl group OH or oxygen, and this photoelectrochemical action acts as a bactericidal action. The bactericidal effect can be brought to almost zero.

As another embodiment of the present invention, in place of the above titania, an inorganic inorganic ion exchanger or porous material such as zeolite, calcium phosphate, hydroxyapatite and zirconium phosphate, and an antibacterial metal material are used. Alternatively, it may be a complex with the ion.
Examples of this include silver copper zeolite, silver zirconium phosphate, silver phosphate glass, silver phosphate ceramics, and silver vapor-deposited hydroxyapatite, and these fine particles are treated with the chemical resistance and heat resistance as described above. You may make it mix | blend about 1-5 weight% with a synthetic resin or rubber which has flexibility.

As still another embodiment of the present invention, antibacterial properties may be imparted to metals such as screws, bolt rubbers, nuts and other metal fittings used for the mounting tool 22. As such a metal having antibacterial properties, there are a stainless steel whose surface is coated with an antibacterial metal layer and a metal which imparts antibacterial properties to the metal itself. Specifically, a structure in which the surface of stainless steel is coated with an antibacterial metal layer, and the antibacterial metal is coated with a metal layer or an alloy layer of Cr, Pi, Ni, Fe or the like containing Ag and / or Cu. Can be considered. In this case, the Ag content is selected in the range of 19 to 60% by weight and the Cu content is selected in the range of 6 to 21% by weight, and Ag or Cu or an alloy or compound thereof is formed on the surface of Cr, pi, Ni or stainless steel. It is possible to disperse and dispose the target consisting of and to form a coating layer on the surface of stainless steel by magnetron sputtering.

When imparting antibacterial properties to the stainless steel itself, specifically, the surface of the stainless steel is treated with TiO 2.
It is possible to use those in which the surface layer portion having a ₂ content of 1 volume% or more and a thickness of 0.2 μm or more is formed, and the TiO ₂ rich surface layer portion has an effective Ti amount of 0.1 to 0.8% by weight. The dew point of stainless steel adjusted to the range of 15-30
° C. may be used after heat-treated 700～1,000 ° C. in a mixed gas atmosphere of H ₂ and N ₂ containing 70% by volume or more of H ₂ in. Antibacterial properties can be realized by such a TiO ₂ rich surface layer portion.

Various fittings used for the wearing tool 22 are made of a material obtained by coating the surface of stainless steel with an antibacterial metal or a material obtained by forming an antibacterial surface layer on stainless steel itself to impart antibacterial properties. By forming
It is possible to prevent bacteria from being generated in a gap where it is difficult for disinfectant or the like to enter, and it is possible to continuously maintain a clean state. Such an eye mask 26 has a peripheral wall 31 on which an arc-shaped or elliptical contact surface 30 is formed in the horizontal cross section of FIG. 31 has a front wall 32 that is bent inward from the end opposite to the contact surface 30, and a through hole 33 is formed in the front wall 32.

On the front wall 32 of the eye mask 26, the light sources 23a, 23b and the infrared CCD cameras 24a, 2 described above are provided.
4b and a holder 34 for holding the image processing means 25a and 25b. The holding body 34 is made of a hard rubber having chemical resistance, and has an annular frame portion 35 fixed to the front wall 32, and an end plate 36 for closing one end surface of the frame portion 35 which is a lower portion in FIG. 1. Have. The holder 34 and the eye mask 26 are made black so as to prevent reflection of visible light when worn by the subject, and the contact surface 30 of the eye mask 26 surrounds the face as described above. It is possible to prevent the intrusion of visible light by closely contacting the entire circumference in the direction, and to prevent the movement of the eyeball unrelated to the head position by setting the front of both eyes as a dark place.

The image processing means 25a and 25b convert the image pickup signals from the infrared CCD cameras 24a and 24b into a predetermined general-purpose image signal, for example, NTSC (National televisio).
A commercially available signal processing circuit for processing image signals of the (nSystem Committee) system can be used.
The light sources 23a and 23b are electrically connected to and erected on 7a and 37b. In this embodiment, these light sources 23
Two a and 23b are provided on each of the left and right sides in FIG. 1 sandwiching the infrared CCD cameras 24a and 24b. Each infrared CCD camera 24a, 24b transfers a signal charge for one pixel from a plurality of vertical transfer CCDs (Charge Coupled Devices) to the horizontal transfer CCD, and the horizontal transfer CCD receives this signal charge. Figure 1
In the sequence from the right side to the left side in FIG. 1, after the transmission is completed, the next one pixel of each vertical transfer CCD is transferred to the horizontal transfer CCD, and this is repeated sequentially to end all transfers. The image signals for the fields are derived to the image processing means 25a, 25b, respectively, and the image processing means 25a, 25b perform signal processing on the above-mentioned general-purpose image signals.
It is configured to output in 60 seconds.

The holder 34 has a light source 23a, 2
3b and substrate 37a, 37b of each image processing means 25a, 25b provided with each infrared CCD camera 24a, 24b
Is a predetermined direction, which is a direction 4 that approaches or separates from each other.
1a, 41b; 42a, 42b to move each infrared C
Imaging position adjusting means 43a and 43b for adjusting the imaging positions of the CD cameras 24a and 24b are provided. One of the image pickup position adjusting means 43a will be described.

The image pickup position adjusting means 43a is provided on the substrate 37.
a metal guide block 44a fixed to a, and a screw rod 45a rotatably connected to one end of the guide block 44a in the longitudinal direction in a state where the guide block 44a is prevented from coming off at a substantially right angle,
A knob 46a fixed to one axial end of the screw rod 45a protruding from the holding body 34 and an insertion hole 38a that is locked to the holding body 34 and through which the screw rod 45a is inserted are externally fitted to the inner peripheral surface. The retaining piece nut 48a in which an inner screw threaded to the screw rod 45a is formed and the shaft hole 49a formed in the other longitudinal end portion of the guide block 44a are inserted, and the base end portion is fixed to the holding body 34. , And a guide shaft 50a having an axis parallel to the axis of the screw rod 45a. The other imaging position adjusting means 43b is the above-mentioned imaging position adjusting means 43.
Similar to a, it is formed symmetrically with respect to one plane 51 passing through the center of the wearing tool 22 in the width direction (left and right direction in FIGS. 1 and 2), and corresponding parts are denoted by the same numbers and suffixes b.

Such image pickup position adjusting means 43a, 43
b, image processing means 25a, 25 equipped with light sources 23a, 23b and infrared CCD cameras 24a, 24b.
b of the boards 37a, 37b individually in the proximity directions 41a, 4
1b and the separating directions 42a and 42b, the image pickup positions can be adjusted so that the image pickup positions by the infrared CCD cameras 24a and 24b are substantially at the center of the eyeball. The respective image pickup position adjusting means 43a and 43b are
By operating one knob 46a with a screw rod having external threads formed on opposite sides in the axial direction, the boards 37a and 37b are moved toward each other by the same distance 41 from each other.
a, 41b and the separating directions 42a, 42b.

Both side portions 27a, 27b of the wearing tool 22 described above.
Is a pair of pseudo semicircular canals 55 formed in a pseudo shape corresponding to the semicircular canals on the left and right sides corresponding to the position of the semicircular canal of the subject with the wearing tool 22 attached.
a and 55b are provided symmetrically. Each pseudo-third semicircular canal 5
5a and 55b have outer semicircular canals 56a and 56b substantially horizontal, and front semicircular canals 57a and 57b are provided near the head thereof, and are orthogonal to the semicircular canals 57a and 57b behind each outer semicircular canal 56a and 56b. The latter half of the canal 58 on the plane
a and 58b are provided. These outer semicircular canals 56
The a, 56b, the front semicircular canals 57a, 57b, and the rear semicircular canals 58a, 58b are formed to have a shape substantially similar to that of the actual semicircular canal and are formed by different colors for each semicircular canal. 57a1, 58a
1; 56b1, 57b1, 58b1 are also color-separated from the respective semicircular canals and arranged symmetrically.

Each of the three semicircular canals has an annular shape and a substantially semicircular shape, and can mainly sense the stimulus of the rotational acceleration of the head. The rotational acceleration applied to each surface stimulates each semicircular canal. When the semicircular canal nerve is excited by such a stimulus, the ocular muscles communicating with each semicircular canal nerve are expanded or contracted through the vestibular nerve nucleus, and the left and right eyeballs are displaced. It is known that such displacement of the eyeball is caused in the plane of the stimulated semicircular canal, and such movement of the eyeball is called vestibular reflex.

The holding body 34 of the wearing tool 22 as described above includes
A pair of signal terminals 61a and 61b electrically connected to the image processing means 25a and 25b, a power supply terminal 62, and a power switch 63 are provided on the upper portion thereof. By pressing the power switch 63, the power terminal 62
Is supplied to the image processing means 25a and 25b, the infrared CCD cameras 24a and 24b are energized, and the light sources 23a and 23b are turned on.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of the equilibrium function inspection device 21, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the equilibrium function inspection device 21.
3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of FIG. The equilibrium function inspection device 21 includes, in addition to the above-described wearing tool 22, a display unit 66 that displays an image of the anterior segment based on the image signals output from the image processing units 25a and 25b. This display means 6
6 inputs and processes the right eye image signal and the left eye image signal output from the image processing means 25a and 25b,
An image control unit 67 that edits two image signals so as to be displayed on one screen, a monitor television 68 that displays images by the output from the image control unit 67, and a video recorder that records the image displayed on the monitor television 68. 69 and.

As an editing example, the image control means 67 displays both image signals at the same time, and additionally displays the chart number and ID code of the subject. Figure 5
In this display mode, only the anterior segment on one side is displayed on the screen 70 of the monitor television 68, and each image processing unit 25
One of the connection lines 71a and 71b connected to one of the signal terminals 61a and 61b of a and 25b is not connected to a signal input terminal (not shown) provided in the image processing means 67. It is said that Further, by connecting the connection lines 71a and 71b to the input terminals of the image control means 67, respectively, images of both anterior ocular segments can be displayed. The ID code and the like can be additionally displayed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the procedure of the head position conversion nystagmus examination. The nystagmus induced by a rapid dynamic stimulation mainly applied to the otolithic organ and the semicircular canal by the head position change was photographed by the equilibrium function test device 21 of the present embodiment, and displayed on the monitor television 68. The image and the head position of the subject 73 can be observed at the same time to diagnose a disease such as imbalance. As shown in FIG. 7 (1), the procedure for such a head position conversion nystagmus test is that the subject 73 is in a sitting position, and the examiner 74 mounts it on the face of the head 75 of the subject 73. Put on 22. In this state, the examiner 74 connects the signal terminals 61a and 61b provided on the wearing tool 22 and the image signal input terminals (not shown) provided to the image control means 67 through the connection lines 71a and 71b, respectively.
The power switch 63 provided on the wearing tool 22 is pressed to check the image of each anterior segment displayed on the monitor TV 68, and the knobs 46a of the image pickup position adjusting means 43a and 43b are checked.
46b is operated to adjust the imaging position.

When the preparation is completed in this way, the nystagmus examination is started while changing the head position of the subject 73. The nystagmus examination is performed from the sitting position shown in FIG.
Subject 73 over the suspended head position shown in (2)
The head position is changed by inclining the head 75 to the front, lower right, and lower left while changing the body position. This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. First, in the sagittal head position conversion nystagmus test, the head position is changed from the sitting position front to the hanging position front after moving from the hanging position front to the sitting position front. In the combined sagittal and horizontal nystagmus test, the right lower position of the suspended head is moved to the front of the sitting position. Move from the front to the lower left of the suspension head position.

By looking at the image displayed on the monitor television 68 while changing the patient's head position in this way, the nystagmus latency, nystagmus direction, nystagmus number, reproducibility, attenuation phenomenon and dizziness Are observed. When the head position is changed in this way, the wearing tool 22 includes the pseudo third semicircular canals 55a, 5
Since 5b is provided, it is possible to easily grasp which part of the semicircular canal is stimulated by the change of the head position of the subject 73 by the pseudo semicircular canals 55a and 55b while watching the image on the monitor television 68.

9 (1) to 9 (4) are typical head-position-changing nystagmus, that is, the main movement directions of the eyeballs displayed on the monitor television 68 are shown by arrows, and the upper row shows the eyes in the sitting position. The lower row shows nystagmus in the suspended position. Figure 9
(1) is called direction-fixing head position conversion nystagmus, and shows an example in which horizontal nystagmus in the right direction appears in both the suspended head position and the sitting position. Further, FIG. 9 (2) shows an opto-rotatory nystagmus that has been converted to the opposite circumflex position, and shows an example in which the forward gyrus nystagmus appears to the right in the suspended head position and to the left in the sitting position. Further, FIG. 9 (3) shows vertical head position conversion nystagmus, showing a state in which vertical nystagmus directed to the lower eyelid appears in the suspended head position, and FIG. 9 (4) shows retrograde vertical head position. The converted nystagmus is shown, and an example is shown in which vertical nystagmus appears in the vertical eye position in the lower eyelid direction and in the sitting position in the upper eyelid direction. Such a head position changing operation often occurs unconsciously during daily wake-up and supine movements, but a normal person does not induce nystagmus during head position changing operation. However, in cases of inner ear disorders and cerebellum / brainstem disorders, there are various symptoms such as a failure of the nystagmus suppression mechanism, and dizziness is induced along with nystagmus.
Diagnosis can be made by observing the nystagmus of the dog.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a balanced function testing device 21a showing still another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a balanced function testing device 21a shown in FIG.
3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of FIG. The parts corresponding to those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 9 are designated by the same reference numerals. The equilibrium function inspection device 21a of the present embodiment is the wearing tool 2 in the equilibrium function inspection device 21 of the form shown in FIGS.
2 to one side of the wearing device 22, and thus the subject 73
An acceleration detector 77 is provided which detects acceleration with respect to the movement of the head 75 in three dimensions and outputs acceleration signals in the directions of three orthogonal axes (X axis, Y axis, Z axis). This acceleration detector 7
7 can be realized by, for example, three tuning fork type (Watson type) acceleration sensors, piezo gyroscopes, or piezoelectric type acceleration sensors that individually detect accelerations in the directions of three orthogonal axes. The acceleration signal from the acceleration detector 77 is input to the acceleration signal processing means 78 and digitized, and the digitized acceleration signal is input to the image control means 67. This image control means 67
In addition to the editing example described above, that is, the simultaneous display of the movements of both eyes and the additional display of the number and ID code of the chart of the subject, the movement or acceleration of the head based on the acceleration signal is additionally displayed. Edit so that you can.

As an example of the display image of the monitor television 68 including the acceleration signal by the image control means 67,
As shown in FIG. 12, the display area 8 on the right side of the screen 70 is displayed.
The anterior segment may be displayed at 1, and the acceleration in the three axial directions based on the acceleration signal may be displayed in the left display area 82 as a bar graph corresponding to each semicircular canal. Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the screen 70 is divided into four equal parts, and the left and right anterior eye parts are displayed in the left and right display regions 83 and 84 in the upper stage.
In the lower left and right display areas 85 and 86, the accelerations based on the acceleration signals on the left and right sides may be individually displayed as bar graphs corresponding to the respective semicircular tubes. Further, as shown in FIG. 14, in the display mode of FIG. 12, instead of the bar graph of the display area 82 on the left side, three-axis acceleration is displayed by three graphs with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing acceleration. You may do it. Furthermore, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, instead of the bar graphs displayed in the two regions 85 and 86 in the lower part of FIG. 13 described above, the horizontal and vertical axes represent the accelerations in the respective right and left three-axis directions and the vertical axis. You may make it respectively display three graphs which are made into acceleration.

Instead of the acceleration detector 77 as described above,
An angular velocity sensor (vibration gyro or gas rate gyro) that detects an angular velocity component of rotational motion, an angular acceleration sensor that detects an angular acceleration that is a differential value thereof, and a velocity sensor may be used.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a balance function testing device 21b showing still another embodiment of the present invention. The equilibrium function inspection device 21b of the present embodiment includes a head photographing unit 88 that photographs the movement of the head of the subject. This head photographing means 8
8 can be realized by a commercially available video camera, for example. The head photographing unit 88 photographs the head of the subject and outputs the image signal when performing the head position conversion nystagmus test as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 described above,
It is constructed so that it can be input to the image control means 67 and displayed on the monitor television 68. In this case, the image control means 68 displays the anterior segment imaged by the right or left infrared CCD camera 24a or 24b in the right display area 90, and the head image capturing means 88 in the left display area 91. Head 7 of the subject 73 imaged by
Images around 5 are displayed. In the image displayed in the display area 91 on the left side, the wearing tool 22 worn on the head 75
Is displayed together with the pseudo three semicircular canals 55a and 55b, the examiner can visually recognize the two display areas 90 and 91 at the same time, and the examinee 73 can recognize the head position and the eye movement in association with each other. In this way, the convenience in diagnosis can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 17, the screen 70 is divided into four, and the anterior ocular segment of both eyes is displayed in the upper left and right display areas 93 and 94, and the lower right display area 95 is covered. The inspection-related information such as the name, sex, and inspection date of the inspector is displayed, and the image near the head of the subject imaged by the head imaging unit 88 is displayed in the lower left display area 96. You may In this way, the screen 70 is divided into four and the anterior segment of both eyes, the head position, and the examination data can be displayed at the same time. Therefore, the convenience in diagnosis can be significantly improved.

In each of the above embodiments, the wearing tool 22 has a pair of light sources 23 for photographing the eye movements of both eyes.
a, 23b, infrared CCD cameras 24a, 24b, image processing means 25a, 25b, image pickup position adjusting means 43a, 4
3b and the pseudo third semicircular canals 55a and 55b are provided, the light source 2 can be provided only on one side of the mounting tool 22 on the right or left side as a further embodiment of the present invention.
3a (or 23b), infrared CCD camera 24a (or 24b), image processing means 25a (or 25b),
The imaging position adjusting means 43a (or 43b) and the pseudo third semicircular canal 55a (or 55b) may be provided.

FIG. 18 is a schematic view showing a balanced function testing device 21c of still another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the wearing tool 22a provided in the equilibrium function testing device 21c shown in FIG.
The equilibrium function inspection device 21c of the present embodiment basically has
A mounting tool 22a that is mounted on the face of the subject M and covers the anterior segment of the eye
In addition, each of the left and right four light sources 101 that generate infrared rays in the non-visible region as illumination light for illuminating the anterior segment, and a pair of infrared CCD cameras 102 that are provided in the wearing tool 22a and are image pickup devices that image the anterior segment. And a pair of image processing means 103 provided on the wearing tool 22a for processing the image pickup signals from the respective infrared CCD cameras 102 and outputting a predetermined general-purpose image signal.
And an angular velocity detector 104 that is a sensor that is provided on one side of the wearing tool 22a and that detects the angular velocity with respect to the movement of the head.
And an image pickup signal of the eye movement when the head is moved from each image processing means 103 and an output signal of the angular velocity detector 104 to process the vestibulo-ocular reflex (abbreviated as VOR: Vestibulo-
display recording means 105 for displaying and recording the ocular reflex).

On the straight line 107 connecting the eye 106 of the subject M and each infrared CCD camera 102, this straight line 1
Half mirror 108 for projecting a direction orthogonal to 07
Is provided, and a reflection mirror 109 is further provided in the direction orthogonal thereto (upper side in FIGS. 18 and 19) so that an external situation can be viewed naturally. As the light source 101, an infrared LED is used as in the above-described embodiment. Further, as the predetermined general-purpose image signal of each image processing means 103, a commercially available signal processing circuit for signal processing the image pickup signal from each infrared CCD camera 102 into an image signal of NTSC system is used as in the above-mentioned embodiment. be able to. Further, each infrared CCD camera 102 is composed of a plurality of vertical transfer CCDs, as in the above-described embodiment.
The signal charges for the pixels are transferred to the horizontal transfer CCD, and the signal charges are sequentially sent to the horizontal transfer CCD from the right side to the left side in FIG. 1 as described above. Each vertical transfer CCD to horizontal transfer CCD
When all the transfer is completed by sequentially repeating this, the image processing means 10 outputs an image pickup signal for one field.
3, and the image processing means 103 processes the signal into the above-mentioned general-purpose image signal, and for example, an image signal for one field can be output in 1/60 seconds.

The display recording means 105 includes a modulator 110.
And a modulation / demodulation means 112 having a demodulator 111,
It includes a video recorder 115 having a video deck 113 and a monitor television 114, a selector 116, an A / D converter 117, and a computer 118.

The fitting 22a is made of a dark black opaque synthetic resin or rubber having flexibility and elasticity, as in the embodiment shown in FIGS. The rubber is formed by mixing or covering it with an antibacterial agent, and a pair of pseudo three semicircular tubes (not shown) are provided on the left and right sides on both sides as in the pseudo three semicircular tubes 55 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. CCD camera 1
02 and each image processing means 1 to which each light source 101 is connected
Image pickup position adjusting means 122 for individually displacing each of the substrates 121 provided with 03 with respect to each other is provided.

The image pickup position adjusting means 122 is used for the wearing tool 2
It has a knob 123 projecting forward from the second front wall 165, and by rotating this knob 123 to the right or left, each substrate 121 can be displaced in a direction in which they approach / separate from each other. Such a fitting 22a is
An image pickup section 124 having the light source 101, the infrared CCD camera 102, the image processing means 103, and the image pickup position adjusting means 122 built therein, a mirror section 125 having the half mirror 108 and the reflection mirror 109 built therein, and a subject M. The eyepiece 126 is attached so as to surround the anterior segment. The eyepiece portion 126 corresponds to the eye mask 26 in each of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 17, and head belts 28 are connected to both side portions thereof. On the peripheral portion of the front wall 127 of the eyepiece 126, the fitting protrusion 1
A plurality of 28 are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction. The fitting protrusion 128 may be a metal piece integrally read on the front wall 127, or may be made of the same material as the front wall 127. The front wall 127 also has the half mirror 10 in the mounted state.
Through hole 1 through which 8 can be visually recognized over almost the entire area
29 is formed.

The mirror portion 125 includes an upper wall 130, a lower wall 131, an upper inner wall 132 that is spaced inward from the upper wall 130, and an inner side of the lower wall 131 (see FIG. 19).
Lower inner wall 133 provided at intervals above the upper wall 130, lower wall 131, upper inner wall 132 and lower inner wall 13
3 in the width direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 19) of the front wall 134 that is vertically continuous with one end, and the longitudinal direction of the upper wall 130, the lower wall 131, the upper inner wall 132, the lower inner wall 133, and the front wall 134 (FIG. 19). (Both in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface) and both side walls 135 that are both vertically continuous. A through hole 136 is formed in the upper wall 130, and a through hole 137 is formed in the upper inner wall 132 so that the half mirror 108 can recognize the reflected light of the reflecting mirror 109 that has jumped up. An optical path is secured between the half mirror 108 and the reflection mirror 109. It is preferable for the half mirror 108 to directly receive the infrared reflected light from the anterior eye part including the eyeball by the CCD camera 102 by raising the half mirror 108 upward at the time of image capturing in terms of sensitivity. By increasing the sensitivity of the CCD camera 102 and / or increasing the light emission intensity of the light source 101, it is possible to obtain a clear image.

A through hole 138 is formed in the front wall 134, and a plurality of fitting protrusions 139 are formed in the peripheral portion of the front wall 134 at intervals in the circumferential direction. Be fitted. The light sources 101 and the infrared CCD camera 102 projecting from the imaging section 124 are inserted into the through holes 138 of the front wall 134 and project into the mirror section 125. And the inner walls 132, 133 are arranged so as to face the space formed between them. This prevents the infrared rays from the light source 101 from being obstructed, and can illuminate the anterior segment with a larger amount of light.

The base end of the reflection mirror 109 is pivotally supported by the pin 141 on the upper wall 130, and one end of the link piece 143 in the longitudinal direction is connected to the center of the width direction by the pin 142. The other longitudinal end of the link piece 143 is connected to one longitudinal end of another link piece 145 by a pin 144, and the other longitudinal end of the link piece 145 is a through hole of the upper wall 130 by a pin 146. It is connected to one side facing 136.

One side portion of the upper wall 130, the reflection mirror 109, and the pins 141, 142, 144, 147.
And the link pieces 143 and 145 form a parallelogram link. With such a parallelogram link mechanism, the reflection mirror 109 can be angularly displaced between an open position in which the reflection mirror 109 is flipped up from the upper wall 130 and a closed position in which the through hole 136 is fitted. In this way, the reflection mirror 1
09 is provided so that it can be stored in the wearing tool 22a.

The parallelogram link means may be provided only at one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the reflection mirror 109 perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 9 or at both end portions. Further, each of the pins 141, 142, 144, 147 and each of the link pieces 143, 145 is made of the above-mentioned antibacterial metal.

Such a reflecting mirror 109 can be arranged so as to stand up substantially parallel to the upper wall 130 as shown by an imaginary line 148 without providing or removing the pin 141 on the base end side, In this case, on the surface of the reflection mirror 109 facing the half mirror 108, various shapes such as circles, squares, and triangles having a predetermined size may be displayed as the fixed-point viewing target. As a result, the target for fixed-point viewing of the reflecting mirror 109 is changed to the half mirror 1.
It can be visually recognized by 08.

The half mirror 108 has a mounting piece 151 fixed to one end in the width direction at one end in the longitudinal direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 19, and the mounting piece 151 projects downward from the upper inner wall 132 by a pin 152. It is connected to the hanging piece 153. A mounting piece 154 is fixed to the other end of the half mirror 108 in the width direction, and the pin 1 is attached to the mounting piece 154.
One end of the link piece 156 in the longitudinal direction is connected by 55. The other end of the link piece 156 in the longitudinal direction is connected to the one end of the link piece 158 in the longitudinal direction by a pin 157. It is connected to the hanging piece 160 which projects and connects.

Each mounting piece 151, 154, each pin 152,
155, 157, 159, each link piece 156, 158,
The hanging pieces 153, 160, the upper inner wall 132, and the half mirror 108 form a parallelogram link.
With such a parallelogram link, the half mirror 108 can be angularly displaced about the pin 152.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 19, it is possible to maintain a stable holding state at an angle of about 45 ° with respect to the upper wall 130 and the upper inner wall 132. Further, since such a half mirror 108 transmits infrared light and reflects visible light, when the anterior segment of the eye is illuminated by the light source 101, the reflected light should be received by the infrared CCD camera 102 via the half mirror 108. And the half mirror 10 shows, for example, the indoor situation reflected on the reflection mirror 109.
It can be visually recognized by being reflected by 8. The mounting pieces 151, 154, the pins 152, 155, 157,
159 and each of the link pieces 156, 158 are made of the above-mentioned metal having antibacterial properties.

A through hole 162 is formed in the upper wall 161 of the image pickup section 124.
Is formed. At both ends of the upper wall 161 perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 19, both side walls 163 are bent and connected at a substantially right angle, and lower ends of the side walls 163 are connected by a lower wall 164. A front wall 165 is connected to and closed at one end of the upper wall 161, the side walls 163, and the lower wall 164 in the widthwise direction of FIG. The end plate near the front wall 165 of the upper wall 161 is connected by a pin 166 to an attachment plate 167 of the target object for fixed-point viewing, and the other end of this attachment plate 167 is connected by a pin 168 to the longitudinal direction of the link piece 169. One end is connected. At the other end of the link piece 169 in the longitudinal direction, the pin 1
One end portion in the longitudinal direction of the other link piece 171 is connected by 70, and the other end portion in the longitudinal direction of this link piece 171 is an end portion near the mirror portion 125 in the peripheral edge portion facing the through hole 162 of the upper wall 161 by the pin 172. Connected to.

The pins 166, 168, 170, the link pieces 169, 171, the mounting plate 167 and one side portion of the upper wall 161 constitute a parallelogram link. By such a parallelogram link, the mounting plate 167 is attached to the mounting plate 167 of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, the open position raised upward and the through hole 1
It can be angularly displaced into a closed position in which it is housed by being fitted in 62, and can be supported so as to maintain a state in which it is raised to a constant open state.

The pins 166, 170, 172 and the link pieces 169, 171 are made of the above-mentioned antibacterial metal. On the surface of the mounting plate 167 facing the reflection mirror 109, a target object is displayed by, for example, a sheet or paint. When such a target object is provided on the mounting plate 167, the target object is not provided on the reflection mirror 109, and the target object on the mounting plate 167 is reflected by the reflection mirror 109 and recognized by the half mirror 108. be able to.

Infrared CCD camera 102 and light source 10
The wearing tool 22a containing 1 is mounted on the anterior segment of the subject M, and the angular velocity detector 104 is provided on the side surface of the wearing tool 22a so as to be perpendicular to the horizontal semicircular canal of the pseudo third semicircular canal. By thus providing the angular velocity detector 104, the angular velocity in the rotation direction of the horizontal semicircular canal can be detected. For example, when performing a rotational nystagmus examination, the image pickup signal of each infrared CCD camera 102 of the eye movement when the subject is fixed to a swivel chair and a rotational movement is given, a video deck 113 of the video recorder 115.
Modulator 11 so that the output signal of the angular velocity detector 104 is recorded in the audio band of the video tape loaded in the video deck 113.
0 to each of the audio input terminals of the video deck 113 for recording. The modulation method used at this time may be any modulation method capable of recording in a voice band such as FM, AM, FSK and PSK, or may be used in combination.

The image pickup signal and the audio signal thus output are reproduced, the image pickup signal is A / D converted by the A / D converter 117 via the selector 116, and the audio signal is demodulated by the demodulator 111 to the original sensor. Demodulated to output signal,
It is input to the A / D converter 117 via the selector 116. Alternatively, the image pickup signal and the sensor output signal may be directly input to the A / D converter 117 without being recorded, image processing may be performed, and the image may be displayed on the monitor television 118a.

In this computer 118, the digitized image signal of the eye movement is binarized, and the angular velocity is calculated from the elliptic approximation or the movement of the center of gravity. Further, at least one or more of angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration is calculated from the digitized sensor output signal. In this way, the monitor TV 118a displays the vestibular ocular reflex (VO).
The measurement data of R) are simultaneously or individually selected and displayed, and the vestibulo-ocular reflex can be observed and recorded.

As shown in FIG. 20, the wearing tool 22a has the straight line 107 between the anterior segment and the image pickup device.
Since the half mirror 108 arranged on the upper side and the reflection mirror 109 provided on the upper side in the direction orthogonal to the half mirror 108, when measuring a normal vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR),
The half mirror 108 is kept in a state of being pulled out in a direction intersecting with the straight line 107 as shown in FIGS. It is folded in such a state that it fits into the through hole 136 to close the through hole 136 and forms a part of the exterior of the mounting tool 22a.

When measuring the natural vestibular ocular reflex (VisVOR), as shown in FIG. 20, the half mirror 108 is lowered, the reflection mirror 109 is opened upward, and the subject M is outside. To give a natural view of the situation,
Moreover, the eyeball temperature is imaged by each infrared CCD camera 102, observed by the monitor television 118a of the computer 118, or recorded in the video recorder 115,
It is reproduced and observed by the monitor television 114, and the head movement and the eye movement are recorded by the video recorder 115 in the same manner as the measurement of the normal vestibular reflex (VOR).

Further, as shown in FIG. 21, when the fixed-point viewing target provided on the reflecting mirror 109 is used, the reflecting mirror 109 is placed horizontally so as to be orthogonal to the half mirror 108, and the fixation vestibular eye is fixed. Reflection (VOR-FIX)
Can be measured. At this time, the target may be, for example, a pattern attached to the reflection mirror 109, a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode, or an arbitrary image displayed on the liquid crystal display element.

Further, as shown in FIG. 22, the reflection mirror 109
Mounting plate 167 which is placed in the reflection direction while being opened
When using a target that is fixed on the mounting plate 167 and can be fixed-point fixed, the subject is fixed-point fixed and the fixation vestibular ocular reflex is monitored by the monitor TV 1 of the computer 118.
18a and can be recorded by the video recorder 115 at the same time.

As another embodiment of the present invention, as shown by reference numeral 120 in FIG. 23, for example, a spherical target object 17 is attached to the tip of an arm 175 bent forward in a hook shape.
6 may be suspended so as to be immobile. Also with such a configuration, the subject can be made to see the target object 176 at a fixed point and a fixation nystagmus test can be performed.

As an example for observing and recording the head movement and the eye movement by the above-mentioned equilibrium function inspection device 21c to explain the diagnosis of the vestibular function, as shown in FIG. 24, the angular velocity of the head rotation movement is measured. 24 (a) to 24 (f), and FIG. 24 (a) to FIG.
4 (f) is shown in the second row from the top, the angular velocity (HV) measured by the natural visual vestibular eye reflex measurement is shown in the third row from the top, and the angular velocity (HV) measured by the fixation visual vestibular eye reflex test is shown in the lowermost row. In each of the four graphs from the uppermost stage to the lowermost stage in FIGS. 24A to 24F, the vertical axis represents the angular velocity and the horizontal axis represents the time. The angular velocity (HV) is, for example, the wearing tool 22.
It is an output signal of the angular velocity detector 104 attached to a, and the normal vestibular ocular reflex, natural visual vestibular ocular reflex and fixation visual vestibular ocular reflex are angular velocities calculated from eye movements imaged by the infrared CCD camera 102.

In the case of a healthy person, as shown in FIG. 24 (a), the angular velocities of the fixation vestibular reflex (VOR-FIX) have the same waveform, but one vestibular function has a disease. 24 (b), the gain of the normal vestibulo-ocular reflex, that is, the ratio of the angular velocity of VOR and the angular velocity of HV, decreases, and when there is a disease on both sides, The gain is further reduced as shown at 24 (c).

When there is a disease in the medulla oblongata region, VOR decreases as shown in FIG. 24 (d), and a gain appears in VOR-FIX which does not appear in a healthy person. Furthermore, when there is a disease in the cerebellum, as shown in FIG. 24 (e), the gain of VOR-FIX appears to be almost the same as that of other VORs, and in addition to this, when there is a disease in the lobular nervous system. In FIG. 24, as shown in FIG. 24 (f), a decrease in VOR was hardly observed, and only the expression of VOR-FIX was recorded.

Further, as described above, by analyzing the information of both the natural nystagmus examination and the fixation nystagmus examination, not only the vestibular function but also the identification of the origin of nystagmus in the central nervous system or the occurrence of a disease are detected. The points can also be evaluated.

In each of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 18 to 24, the angular velocity detector 104 which detects the angular velocity through the sensor is used, but as still another embodiment of the present invention, the A sensor that detects any of velocity, acceleration, angle, and angular acceleration with respect to movement may be used. Also, the above-mentioned wearing tools 22, 22
The above-mentioned sensor is provided in the conventional Frenzel spectacles which does not include an infrared CCD camera as an image pickup element and a light source like a, and the eye movement and the output of the sensor when the head is moved by the display recording means 105 shown in FIG. It may be configured to observe and record the signal.

FIG. 25 is a simplified diagram showing a balance function testing device 21d according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
The equilibrium function inspection device 21d of the present embodiment is shown in FIGS.
7 can be used, and is composed of an air nozzle 181 that can be inserted into the ear canal M1 of the subject M, a thermocouple, a thermistor, or an infrared temperature detecting element, and the nozzle tip of the air nozzle 181. 181
Sensor 182 for detecting the temperature of the air discharged from the
An air temperature control means 183 for controlling the temperature of the air by the Peltier element 191 based on the temperature information of the temperature sensor 182, an air pump 184 for supplying air to the air nozzle 181, and a signal processing device (abbreviated as CPU) 196.
A pump drive circuit 192, a pressure sensor 193, a Peltier element drive circuit 194, and a temperature sensor amplifier 195.
And a thermal stimulus control unit U with.

The eye movement when the temperature stimulation is applied to the external auditory meatus M1 by the temperature stimulation control unit U is as follows.
A thermal nystagmus test can be performed by observing with the wearing tool 22.

Temperature sensor 182 and air pipe 185
The air nozzle 181 having the
It is possible to set a predetermined stimulation temperature using the temperature setting operation panel 186 and to set the stimulation time using the stimulation presentation operation panel 187. Infrared CCD
The wearing tool 22 incorporating the camera 102 and the light source 101 is worn on the anterior segment of the subject M to present a stimulus, and at the same time,
The infrared ray CCD camera 102 captures an image of the eye movement by the temperature stimulus by the air nozzle 181, and the observation and recording are performed. At this time, the temperature of the thermal stimulus is read by the A / D converter 188 in the air temperature control means 183, and then,
The modulation circuit 189 records the image pickup signal together with the image pickup signal in the video recorder, or the output signal is directly modulated and recorded together with the image pickup signal. Further, when the stimulus presentation signal is combined with the detection signal and modulated at the time of modulation, the stimulus presentation timing can be recorded at the same time. The modulation method used at this time is, for example, FM, AM, FSK or P.
A modulation method capable of recording in a voice band such as SK can be appropriately selected and used, or a combination thereof can be used.

The video and audio signals recorded by the video recorder are reproduced, and the image pickup signals are A / D converter 18
8 is digitized and the audio signal is demodulated by the demodulation circuit 190.
Is demodulated into the original sensor output signal and the stimulus presentation signal by the A / D converter 188, and A / D converted by the A / D converter 188.
Further, the image pickup signal is directly output to the sensor output signal and the stimulus presentation signal is A / D converted by the A / D converter 188 without recording.
You may convert.

The digitized image signal of the eye movement is
Binarization is performed, and the angle and the angular velocity or the angular acceleration are calculated from the ellipse approximation or the movement of the center of gravity. Further, the stimulation temperature is calculated from the digitized sensor output signal, and the stimulation presentation timing is calculated from the stimulation presentation signal.

With such a configuration, the eye movement, the temperature stimulation signal, and the stimulation temperature can be displayed, observed, and recorded on the monitor television as a graph necessary for diagnosing the vestibular function. As an example of such a graph, in FIG. 27, the angular velocity of the eye movement is shown as + in the direction from the right to the left in the uppermost stage, the stimulation temperature is shown in the second stage from the top, and the stimulation presentation timing is shown in the lowermost stage. Each of them is shown as a vertical axis, and the horizontal axis shows time. When the right vestibule has symptoms such as vestibular neuritis, generally, when temperature stimulation is applied, nystagmus appears in a direction away from the diseased side, but when there is a disease in the right ear, FIG. As shown in (), it can be seen that the reaction is small even when stimulation is applied to the right ear. on the other hand,
When the left ear which seems to be normal is stimulated,
It can be seen that there is a reaction as shown in (b), which is normal. Further, since these reactions differ depending on the temperature of the stimulus to be given or the individual difference of the subject, by recording and displaying the temperature change and the stimulus timing of the stimulus actually applied at the same time as the eye movement, it is possible to obtain higher diagnostic information. An inspection can be done.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, an infrared ray detection sensor may be used as the temperature sensor 182 to directly detect the temperature of the eardrum.

[0111]

According to the present invention described in claim 1, the image signal output from the image processing means can be used to directly display on the display means such as a monitor television. This eliminates the need to separately purchase an expensive image processing device as described in connection with the above-mentioned conventional technique, and the image signal of an analog value output from an image sensor is processed by the image processing through a signal line. Since it is not necessary to transfer the image to the device, noise is not mixed into the image pickup signal and the signal waveform is not distorted, and a clear image can be displayed.
Moreover, since the light source, the image pickup device, and the image processing means can be integrally mounted on a single substrate to form a unit, the unit is lightweight even when mounted on the mounting tool, and the image is blurred due to changes in the subject's head position. There is no possibility of occurrence. Further, the image of the anterior segment of the subject based on the image signal from the image processing means can be simultaneously displayed on one screen or on each screen of a separately prepared monitor television. Since the movement of the eyeball of the anterior segment of the eye and the movement of the head of the subject can be recognized at the same time, the eye movement and the head position can be recognized in association with each other. And ease can be improved.

According to the present invention as set forth in claims 2 and 4,
The wearing tool is provided with a pseudo semicircular canal corresponding to the position of the semicircular canal of the subject. The examiner simultaneously recognizes the movement of the eyeball displayed on the monitor TV and the pseudo semicircular canal of the wearing tool attached to the subject, and easily and easily recognizes the relationship between the subject's head position and eye movement. Can be accurately recognized. Further, in the configuration of the present invention according to claim 2, when the wearing tool is provided with a pseudo third semicircular canal, the head of the subject is photographed by the head photographing means, and thus the screen of the monitor television prepared separately. The pseudo semicircular canal of the wearing tool worn on the head of the subject can be recognized simultaneously with the eye movement. Furthermore, since the wearing tool is provided with a detector for detecting the movement of the head together with the pseudo three semicircular canal,
A display of, for example, a bar graph based on the detection signal from the detector, which shows the movement of the head of the subject, is displayed together with the movement of the eyeball, and this display can be recognized simultaneously with the movement of the pseudo semicircular canal. Therefore, the examiner can visually grasp the actual movement of the head of the subject to grasp the stimulated portion of the pseudo semicircular canal and the like to quantitatively grasp the movement of the head, which is more accurate and reliable. It is possible to make various diagnoses.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, the wearing tool is provided with a detector for detecting the movement of the head. Any of the velocity, acceleration, angular velocity, and angular acceleration detected by can be visually displayed on the screen of a separately prepared monitor TV by, for example, a bar graph, and thus, eye movement and detector The movement of the wearing equipment, that is, the movement of the head can be recognized simultaneously and quantitatively, which can improve the accuracy and ease of diagnosis.

[0114]

According to the present invention of claim 5, in the structure of the present invention of claim 1, since the mounting tool is provided with the image pickup position adjusting means, the image pickup element is moved to the center of the eyeball and the eyeball is moved. Adjustments can be made so that the entire movement of the can be clearly imaged. Such an image pickup position adjusting unit accurately adjusts the image pickup position according to the difference in the distance between both eyes from adults to children by providing the image pickup position so that the respective image pickup elements can approach and separate from each other. It becomes possible. Also, if the imaging position can be adjusted in the direction of approaching / distinguishing from both eyes, the pupil can be observed in the expanded state, and the range of movement of the eyeball can be covered in the separated state. It becomes possible to take an image. Further, when the imaging position can be adjusted in the vertical direction, it is possible to finely adjust by moving each image sensor in the vertical direction without displacing the wearing tool while the subject is wearing the wearing tool. It will be possible. Such an imaging position adjusting means can be similarly applied to a configuration in which the light source, the imaging element, and the image processing means are provided on only one of the left and right eyes of the wearing tool. It is possible to adjust the imaging position in a desired manner. Further, such an image pickup position adjusting means can adjust the image pickup position to a position desired by the examiner even with the configurations of the inventions according to claims 2 to 4, so that, for example, the subject has a perspective view. Even in such a case, the examiner can grasp the direction of the deviation in advance, and the convenience in diagnosis is improved.

According to the present invention of claim 6, the anterior ocular segment is made a dark place by the wearing tool, and the state of the dark place is maintained even if infrared rays are emitted from the infrared light emitting element. The anterior ocular segment is imaged by the detection element. This makes it possible to reduce nystagmus suppression due to fixation and to accurately measure nystagmus during eye movement measurement. With such imaging of eye movements by infrared rays, it is possible to observe accurate eye movements in a dark place with any of the configurations of claims 1 to 5, accurately evaluate the vestibular function, and evaluate the lesion. It is very important that the eye movements are not affected by external light in identifying the Escherichia coli and can contribute to the elucidation of the disease.

According to the invention of claim 7, in the structure of the invention of claim 2, an image of the anterior segment from the image processing means and an image showing the movement of the head by the head photographing means are displayed. Either or both of them can be selectively displayed by the display means. In this way, the display means can selectively display one or both of the image of the anterior segment and the image of the movement of the head, so that the display mode can be selectively used according to the wishes of the subject. The convenience in diagnosis can be improved.

According to the invention of claim 8, in the structure of the invention of claim 3, the display means displays an image of the anterior part of the eye and an image showing velocity, acceleration, angular velocity or angular acceleration in the directions of three orthogonal axes. Either one or both of them can be selectively displayed. With this, the movement of the eyeball and the movement of the head can be recognized on one screen at the same time or only one of them can be recognized, whereby the movement of the head of the subject and the movement of the eyeball can be recognized in association with each other. Therefore, the convenience in diagnosis can be improved.

According to the invention of claim 9, in the structure of the invention of claim 8, the display means is configured to display the reaction site of the semicircular canal based on the detection signal from the detector. Therefore, the examinee displays the reaction site of the semicircular canal displayed by the display means, that is, the site to be reacted by the movement of the head, that is, the site of the semicircular canal that may be the origin of the eye movement of the subject. The difference can be easily recognized to make a diagnosis, and thus the presence or absence of a disease, the identification of a lesion, the diagnosis of a disease, or the observation of treatment progress can be easily made in a subject.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the wearing tool is provided with at least one of a detector for detecting the movement of the head and a pseudo semicircular canal. In the case where only the pseudo third semicircular canal is provided in the wearing tool, the examiner confirms the image of the anterior eye part illuminated by the light source and imaged by the imaging device on the screen of the existing display means such as a monitor TV prepared in advance. However, at the same time, by the pseudo semicircular canal of the wearing tool worn by the subject, the inclination of the semicircular canal with the head position change of the subject can be confirmed by associating with the movement of the eyeball projected on the screen. it can. This can improve the accuracy and ease of the diagnosis based on the vestibular ocular reflex and the like. Further, when only the detector for detecting the movement of the head is provided in the wearing tool, the movement of the head position of the subject, that is, the movements in the three axial directions are determined by any one of velocity, acceleration, angular velocity and angular acceleration. It can be quantitatively displayed by the existing image processing means and the display means such as a monitor television based on the image signal from the existing image processing means. Further, by providing both the above-mentioned pseudo semicircular canal and the detector in the wearing tool, the examiner can easily embody and recognize the origin of the eye movement on the semicircular canal by the pseudo semicircular canal while grasping the change in head position quantitatively. Therefore, the accuracy and ease of diagnosis can be further improved.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, since the wearing tool is made of a dark black opaque synthetic resin or rubber having flexibility and elasticity, the wearing tool is worn on the face by the subject. At this time, due to the flexibility and elasticity of the synthetic resin or rubber, the wearing tool is appropriately deformed according to the facial shape, and the anterior segment can be covered with the wearing tool in close contact with the face. By bringing the wearing tool into close contact with the face in this manner, a gap is created between the face and the wearing tool, and external light is prevented from entering the anterior segment. In this way, the external light is prevented from entering the anterior segment of the eye by preventing the image pickup element from receiving reflected light of the anterior segment of the eye and the external light and failing to obtain a clear image. This is to prevent the involuntary movement of the eyeball by external light and the inability to perform an accurate nystagmus test. In particular, flicker, blinking, intensity, and color of external light induce eye movements unrelated to the subject's head position, reducing reproducibility of nystagmus with respect to the head position and inducing that nystagmus. This may interfere with the identification of the origin of nystagmus, which identifies which part of the semicircular canal in which it is operating. Therefore, in the present invention, as described above, the wearing tool is in close contact with the subject's face to prevent the occurrence of a gap, and a dark black opaque synthetic resin or rubber is used to block external light, thereby ensuring reliability. It becomes possible to obtain highly stable nystagmus examination information.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, since the wearing tool is made of synthetic resin or rubber having antibacterial properties, infection occurs through the skin of the subject's face, hands and fingers. It can suppress or eliminate bacterial growth and prevent infection. In addition, by selecting a material that has chemical resistance in addition to the above-mentioned antibacterial property, this wearing tool prevents deterioration and deterioration due to pharmaceuticals even if the wearing tool is wiped and disinfected with a disinfectant such as alcohol. You can

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the image pickup signal of the eye movement imaged by the image pickup device such as the infrared CCD camera and the output signal of the sensor for detecting the movement of the head are processed, and the eyeball is processed. The movement and any of the speed, acceleration, angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration of the head movement are processed and simultaneously displayed or reproduced on, for example, a monitor TV to enable quantitative and objective observation of the equilibrium function. ,
It becomes possible to diagnose equilibrium function by vestibular reflex based on highly reliable data.

According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a half mirror which projects a direction orthogonal to the eye part on a straight line connecting the eye part and the image sensor between the eye part and the image sensor. Provided, a mirror is further provided in the orthogonal direction to allow the external situation to be viewed naturally, the eye movement is imaged by an image pickup device, and an image pickup signal of the eye movement when the head is moved and the output of the sensor It becomes possible to observe and record the natural visual vestibular ocular reflex quantitatively and easily by processing the signal and.

According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the mirror can be housed in the mounting tool and the half mirror can be switched to a dark place by jumping up or without jumping up. In order to reduce the attenuation of the amount of light received by the image sensor, the half mirror is preferably jumped up and retracted out of the image capturing path of the image sensor at the time of image capturing, but the sensitivity of the image sensor is increased, or the light source By increasing the light emission intensity, or increasing both together, it is possible to avoid the attenuation of the amount of light received by the image pickup device, and therefore, even if the half mirror is present in the image pickup path, no problem occurs. Absent. In this way, the vestibular ocular reflex test and the natural visual vestibular ocular reflex test can be individually performed by easily switching between the natural view state and the dark place.

Further, in the present invention, the mirror is provided so as to form a part of the exterior of the wearing tool. That is, forming part of the exterior may be configured, for example, so that the mounting tool is provided with the mirror so as to be openable and closable, and the mirror can be jumped up or closed by an opening / closing operation. By thus providing the mirror so as to form a part of the exterior of the wearing tool, the lid is opened when the mirror is used, and the lid is closed when the mirror is not used to prevent intrusion of dust and the like. be able to.

According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, since a target object capable of fixed-point viewing is provided in the wearing tool instead of the mirror, the target object is reflected on the half mirror and the subject is examined. It is possible to examine the fixation vestibular ocular reflex in this manner, and it is also possible to evaluate the fixation inhibition function by taking into consideration the data of the ocular reflex due to natural vision.

Further, according to the present invention, a target object capable of fixed point viewing is
It is provided so as to form a part of the exterior of the wearing equipment. That the target object forms a part of the exterior of the wearing tool means, for example, that the target object is openably and closably provided at a position where the subject can visually recognize the wearing tool by the mirror, and the fixation vestibular reflex is observed. The equilibrium function test can be performed.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the structure capable of displaying an arbitrary image can be specifically realized by, for example, a liquid crystal display element. With such a liquid crystal display element, a target subject to be fixed-point-viewed can be displayed by patterns, characters, and codes, and further, its position and size can be adapted to the visual characteristics such as the visual acuity of the subject. . Therefore, it is possible to analyze the fixation vestibular ocular reflex according to the target object projected by the liquid crystal display element, not only the target object being constant, and the convenience in inspection is improved.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, a small illuminator is used as a target object capable of fixed-point viewing, and a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode and electroluminescence is used as the small illuminator. be able to. Such a light emitting element, its lighting and extinguishing,
Since it is possible to appropriately change the brightness, color, etc. according to the visual characteristics of the subject or the inspection purpose, it is possible to observe the fixation vestibulo-ocular reflex according to such changes.
It is possible to analyze the inspection result from various angles,
Inspection convenience is improved.

According to the nineteenth aspect of the present invention, since the half mirror is provided so as to be displaceable from the front of the image pickup device to the outside of the image pickup path, when performing a vestibular function test by vestibular eye reflection in a dark place. When a half mirror is not needed, such as when retracting it out of the imaging path and using a half mirror to test the equilibrium function of the natural and vestibular reflexes. At times, the half mirror can be displaced in front of the image sensor. In the state where the half mirror is retracted out of the imaging path in this way, since the half mirror does not exist in front of the image sensor, the reflected light of the anterior segment illuminated by the light source is not attenuated by the half mirror, The eye part can be clearly imaged by the image sensor.

According to the twentieth aspect of the present invention, any one of speed, acceleration, angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration with respect to the movement of the head is detected by a sensor, an output signal of this sensor is processed, and an image pickup device is processed. It is possible to record it in a video recorder together with the image pickup signal by, and reproduce it to perform any one of the above-mentioned vestibular ocular reflex test, natural visual vestibular ocular reflex, and fixation visual vestibular ocular reflex. In particular, since information relating to any one of velocity, acceleration, angle, angular velocity, and angular acceleration with respect to the movement of the head and information regarding the movement of the eyeball by the image sensor are recorded in the video recorder, these information are recorded. You can observe it repeatedly,
Diagnostic convenience is improved.

According to the twenty-first aspect of the present invention, the output signal of the sensor for detecting any of velocity, acceleration, angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration with respect to the movement of the head is:
Since it is modulated and recorded in the audio band of the video recorder,
At the time of reproduction, the output signal of the sensor recorded in the audio band can be demodulated and displayed simultaneously with the image. As a result, the correspondence between the movement of the eyeball and any one of the velocity, acceleration, angle, angular velocity, and angular acceleration based on the output signal of the sensor can be easily recognized, and diagnostic convenience is improved.

According to the present invention as set forth in claim 22, a sensor is provided in the Frenzel spectacles which have been conventionally used for the head position conversion nystagmus test, and the eye movement and the output signal of the sensor when the head is moved are detected. Since it is configured to record and observe, it is possible to perform an examination of the vestibular ocular reflex in a natural vision state that does not have so-called fixed point vision by the Frenzel spectacles, and the present invention is also suitable for such conventional Frenzel spectacles. It becomes possible to carry out a quantitative equilibrium function test with a simple configuration.

According to the twenty-third aspect of the present invention, the air supplied from the pump is guided to the air nozzle and discharged from the tip of the nozzle into the ear canal. The temperature of the air discharged from the tip of this air nozzle or the temperature of the eardrum is
It is detected by a temperature sensor. The air temperature control means controls the temperature of the air discharged from the nozzle tip based on the temperature information of the discharged air or the eardrum detected by the temperature sensor. The air nozzle is insertable into the ear canal, the wearing device is attached to the anterior segment of the subject, and hot air of a predetermined temperature is discharged from the nozzle tip of the air nozzle to give a temperature stimulus to the ear canal. A thermal nystagmus test, that is, a caloric test can be performed by observing eye movements.

Such a thermal nystagmus test is performed by opening the eyes in the dark. For example, warm air of about 30 to 44 ° C. is injected into the ear canal, and the nystagmus induced thereby is observed. Disease factors can be estimated by duration, amplitude, rate of nystagmus, and the like. Such a thermal nystagmus test, when the evoked thermal nystagmus reaches the maximum, performs a single point gaze from the dark to the photopic opening, and how the rate of nystagmus slow phase changes. To observe. In healthy individuals, nystagmus, which was induced under non-gaze, is generally suppressed under photopic gaze, and it is known that the inhibitory effect is reduced in cerebellar disorders. In performing such a temperature nystagmus test, the temperature of the air discharged from the air nozzle can be freely controlled by the temperature control means, and therefore, the strength of the thermal stimulus can be adjusted to suit the subject. Can be stimulated.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, the timing when air is discharged from the nozzle tip of the air nozzle into the external auditory meatus to apply temperature nystagmus, and the temperature sensor detects the internal ear canal or the eardrum. The temperature and the image pickup signal are recorded in the video recorder. At this time, the timing when the temperature nystagmus is applied and the temperature in the external auditory meatus or the eardrum are processed individually or simultaneously, and at the time of reproduction, the image of the eye movement and the timing when the thermal stimulation is applied and the internal ear canal. Alternatively, the temperature of the eardrum can be observed simultaneously or individually. As a result, the nystagmus induced by the temperature stimulus and the temperature in the external auditory meatus or the eardrum can be grasped at the same time, and the duration of the nystagmus, the amplitude, the rate of nystagmus slowing phase, etc. It can be associated and easily observed.

According to the twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, the timing when the temperature stimulus is applied and the temperature in the external auditory meatus or the eardrum are processed individually or in combination and modulated into the audio band of the video recorder. And record. Such audio band recording can be reproduced in synchronization with the image pickup signal, and even if the timing and temperature are individually processed, the data indicating the timing and the data indicating the temperature need to be synchronized with each other. In addition, the data indicating the timing and the data indicating the temperature do not need to be synchronized with the image pickup signal, and the configuration for signal processing is simple and the configuration does not become complicated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an equilibrium function inspection device 21 showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view of the equilibrium function test device 21 as viewed from below in FIG.

3 is a side view of the equilibrium function inspection device 21 as viewed from the right side of FIG.

4 is a perspective view of the equilibrium function inspection device 21. FIG.

5 is a diagram showing a simplified overall configuration of the equilibrium function inspection device 21. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the equilibrium function inspection device 21.

7 is a diagram for explaining the procedure of a head position conversion nystagmus test by the equilibrium function testing device 21, FIG. 7 (1) shows a state in which a subject 73 is in a sitting position, and FIG. 7 (2) shows The subject 73 is in the drooping position.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for changing the head position of the subject 73 in the head position changing nystagmus test.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an eye movement direction of a typical head position conversion nystagmus, and FIG. 9 (1) shows direction fixed head position conversion nystagmus.
FIG. 9 (2) shows nystagmus with convoluted head position conversion.
(3) shows vertical head-position conversion nystagmus, and FIG. 9 (4) shows retrograde vertical head-position conversion nystagmus.

FIG. 10 is a simplified diagram of a balance function testing device 21a showing another embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the equilibrium function inspection device 21a shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an image display state by a display means 66 of the equilibrium function inspection device 21a.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another display state by the display means 66 of the equilibrium function inspection device 21a.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing still another display state by the display means 66 of the equilibrium function inspection device 21a.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing still another display state by the display means 66 of the equilibrium function inspection device 21a.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a balance function testing device 21b according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

17 is a diagram showing another display state by the display means 66 of the equilibrium function inspection device 21b shown in FIG.

FIG. 18 is a schematic view showing a balanced function test device 21c of still another embodiment of the present invention.

19 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of a wearing tool 22d provided in the equilibrium function testing device 21c shown in FIG.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a state of the wearing tool 22a during normal vestibular ocular reflex measurement and natural visual vestibular ocular reflex measurement.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a state at the time of measuring a fixed-vision vestibular eye reflection when a target is provided on the reflection mirror 109.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing a state at the time of measuring a fixed-vision vestibulo-ocular reflex when a target object is provided on the mounting plate 167.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

24 is a graph showing the relationship between angular velocity and time depending on the part of the head detected by the angular velocity detector, and FIG.
4 (a) shows a waveform of the measurement result of a healthy person, and FIG.
FIG. 24 (b) shows a waveform when there is a disease in one vestibular function, FIG. 24 (c) shows a waveform when there is a disease on both sides, and FIG. 24 (d) shows a case where there is a disease in one medulla oblongata region. 24 (e) shows the waveform when there is a disease in the cerebellum, and FIG. 24 (f) shows the waveform when there is a lobular nervous system disease in addition to the disease of the cerebellum.

FIG. 25 is a schematic view showing a balanced function inspection device 21d according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a simplified diagram showing the configurations of an air nozzle 181 and a thermal stimulation control unit U.

FIG. 27: Angular velocity with time due to temperature nystagmus test,
It is a graph which shows temperature and a stimulus, FIG.27 (a) shows the waveform when a right ear has a disease, and FIG.27 (b) shows the waveform when a stimulus is applied to the left ear which seems to be normal.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a typical prior art balanced function test apparatus 1.

[Explanation of symbols]

21,21a, 21b Balance function inspection device 22 Wearing equipment 23a, 23b; 101 light source 24a, 24b; 102 infrared CCD camera 25a, 25b image processing means 26 eye mask 34 holder 43a, 43b Imaging position adjusting means 55a, 55b Pseudo semicircular canal 61a, 61b Signal terminals 62 Power supply terminal 63 power switch 66 display means 67 Image control means 68,114 monitor TV 69,115 video recorder 70 screens 73 Examinee 75 head 77 Accelerometer 78 Acceleration signal processing means 103 image processing device 104 Angular velocity detector 105 display recording means 106 eye 107 straight line 108 Half mirror 109 reflective mirror 118 computer 124 Imaging unit 125 mirror section 126 Eyepiece 181 air nozzle 182 Temperature sensor 183 Air temperature control means 184 air pump 186 Temperature setting operation panel 187 Stimulus presentation operation panel

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masakazu Suzuki 680, Higashihamanancho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture Morita Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (72) Eiki Yoshikawa 680, Higashihamanancho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan Morita Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Susumu Kirimura 680 Higashihamanancho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture Morita Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-5-49627 (JP, A) JP-A-6-165759 (JP, A) ) JP-A-3-37047 (JP, A) JP-A-56-116449 (JP, A) SAIKAI Shou 62-42801 (JP, U) SUN-KOKAI Hei 3-2243 (JP, Y2) (58) Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 5/103-5/113 A61B 3/00-3/18

Claims (25)

(57) [Claims] 1. A mounting tool which is mounted on a subject's face to cover an anterior eye part, a light source for generating illumination light for illuminating the anterior eye part, an image sensor for imaging the anterior eye part, and an image sensor Image processing means for signal-processing the image pickup signal of the above and outputting a predetermined general-purpose image signal, and including a head photographing means for photographing the movement of the head of the subject and outputting the image signal. Characteristic equilibrium function inspection device. 2. A mounting tool which is mounted on the face of a subject and covers the anterior eye part, a light source for generating illumination light for illuminating the anterior eye part, an imaging element for imaging the anterior eye part, and an imaging element. Image processing means for performing signal processing on the image pickup signal of and outputting a predetermined general-purpose image signal. The equilibrium function inspection device is characterized in that a pseudo three-dimensional circular pipe having a pseudo shape corresponding to the above is provided. 3. The wearing tool includes a speed with respect to a movement of the head,
3. The equilibrium function inspection device according to claim 1, further comprising a detector that detects any of acceleration, angular velocity, and angular acceleration in three dimensions and outputs detection signals in orthogonal three-axis directions. 4. The wearing tool is provided with a pseudo third semicircular canal corresponding to a position of the semicircular canal of the subject in a state where the wearing tool is worn, the pseudo third semicircular canal corresponding to the semicircular canal. The equilibrium function inspection device according to claim 1. 5. The equilibrium according to claim 1, wherein the wearing tool is provided with an image pickup position adjusting means for adjusting the image pickup position by moving at least the image pickup element in a predetermined direction. Functional inspection device. 6. The wearing tool has a property of blocking visible light, the light source includes an infrared light emitting element that emits infrared rays, and the imaging element includes an infrared detecting element that detects infrared rays. The equilibrium function inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. A display for selectively displaying one or both of an image of an anterior segment based on an image signal from an image processing means and an image showing a movement of a head based on an image signal from a head photographing means. 4. A means including means.
The equilibrium function test device described. 8. An image of an anterior segment based on an image signal from the image processing means and a velocity, acceleration, angular velocity and angular acceleration in orthogonal three-axis directions based on a detection signal from a detector for detecting movement of the head. 4. The equilibrium function inspection device according to claim 3, further comprising display means for selectively displaying either one or both of the images shown. 9. The equilibrium function inspection device according to claim 8, wherein the display means displays the reaction site of the semicircular canal based on a detection signal from a detector that detects the movement of the head. 10. The wearing tool includes a detector and a wearing tool that detect any of velocity, acceleration, angular velocity and angular acceleration with respect to the movement of the head in three dimensions and output detection signals in orthogonal three axis directions. 2. The equilibrium function test according to claim 1, wherein at least one of pseudo pseudo semicircular canals formed in a pseudo shape corresponding to the semicircular canal is provided corresponding to the position of the semicircular canal of the subject in the mounted state. apparatus. 11. The equilibrium function inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the wearing tool is made of a dark black opaque synthetic resin or rubber having flexibility and elasticity. 12. The equilibrium function test according to claim 11, wherein the wearing tool is made of a synthetic resin or rubber mixed with an antibacterial agent, or a synthetic resin or rubber coated with an antibacterial agent. apparatus. 13. A means for observing an eye movement by signal processing an image pickup signal from the image pickup device, wherein the wearing tool has any one of a velocity, an acceleration, an angle, an angular velocity and an angular acceleration with respect to a movement of a head. A sensor for detecting whether or not the vestibular ocular reflex can be observed and recorded by processing the image signal of the eye movement when the head is moved and the output signal of the sensor. The equilibrium function test device according to claim 1 or 2. 14. The wearing tool is provided with a half mirror on a straight line connecting the anterior eye part and the image pickup device, the half mirror showing a direction orthogonal to the straight line, and a mirror is further provided in the orthogonal direction so that the eyeball A natural visual vestibular eye is obtained by processing the imaging signal of the eye movement when the head is moved and the output signal of the sensor so that the external situation can be observed naturally and the eye movement can be observed by the observation means. 14. The equilibrium function testing device according to claim 13, wherein the device is configured so that reflections can be observed and recorded. 15. The mirror is housed in the wearing device, or the mirror is formed as a part of the exterior of the wearing device, and the vestibular ocular reflex can be observed and recorded. The equilibrium function inspection device according to claim 14. 16. A structure in which a fixed-point-viewable target object is arranged in the wearing tool instead of the mirror, or the fixed-point-viewing target object forms a part of the exterior of the wearing tool and the head is moved 15. The equilibrium function testing device according to claim 14, wherein the equilibrium function testing device is configured so that the imaging signal of the eye movement and the output signal of the sensor can be processed to observe and record the fixation vestibular reflex. 17. The equilibrium function inspection device according to claim 16, wherein the target object capable of fixed-point viewing is configured to be capable of displaying an arbitrary image. 18. The equilibrium function inspection device according to claim 16, wherein the target object capable of fixed-point viewing is a small illuminator. 19. The equilibrium function inspection device according to claim 15, wherein the half mirror is configured to jump up. 20. An output signal of a sensor for detecting any of velocity, acceleration, angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration with respect to head movement is processed and recorded together with an image pickup signal in a video recorder, and the recorded contents of the video recorder are recorded. Play it
20. The equilibrium function test device according to claim 13, wherein the device is capable of observing and recording the vestibular ocular reflex, the natural visual vestibular ocular reflex, or the fixation visual vestibular ocular reflex. 21. The equilibrium function inspection device according to claim 20, wherein an output signal to the sensor is modulated and recorded in an audio band of the video recorder, and demodulated during reproduction. 22. Frenzel spectacles having no element for imaging the movement of the eyeball are connected to a sensor for detecting any of velocity, acceleration, angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration with respect to the movement of the head, and the head is moved. 14. The equilibrium function testing device according to claim 13, wherein the eyeball movement at that time can be observed and recorded. 23. An air nozzle that discharges air from the nozzle tip and can be inserted into the ear canal, a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the air discharged from the nozzle tip of the air nozzle or the temperature of the eardrum by infrared rays, and the temperature of the air. Is equipped with an air temperature control means for controlling the temperature based on the temperature information of the temperature sensor and a pump for supplying air to the air nozzle, so that the temperature nystagmus examination can be performed by observing the eye movement when the temperature stimulus is applied. The equilibrium function inspection device according to claim 13, wherein the equilibrium function inspection device is configured as follows. 24. The eye movement is observed by processing the timing when temperature nystagmus is applied and the temperature in the external auditory meatus or the eardrum individually or in combination, and recording and reproducing together with an image pickup signal in a video recorder. 24. The equilibrium function test device according to claim 23, wherein the balance function test device is configured to be recordable. 25. Processing the timing when a thermal stimulus is applied and the temperature in the ear canal or the eardrum individually or in combination, modulating and recording in the audio band of the video recorder, and demodulating at the time of reproduction. 3. The method according to claim 2,
The equilibrium function inspection device according to 3 or 24.