JPH1024019A - Eyeball photographing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an eyeball photographing device by which alignment and focusing can be instantenously performed, and which can be constituted in what is called a handy type. SOLUTION: An eyeball photographing device is provided with cornea photographing mechanisms 2 which are arranged on a first table 100 respectively for measuring the thickness of the cornea by photographing the total reflection light of slit light rays at the cornea being obliquely irradiated on the apex of the cornea from the front of the eye E to be examined, an alignment mechanism 3 for bringing the optical axis of the device in line with the apex of the cornea on the basis of the Perking image being cornea reflection image due to the parallel light irradiated from the front on the apex T of the cornea, and a focusing mechanism 4 for detecting the reflection light in the vicinity of the apex of the cornea so as to bring the focusing points of the cornea photographing mechanisms 2 in line with the center of the detecting portion. The device is constituted in such a way that the objective optical parts of the respective mechanisms 2, 3, and 4 are relatively moved with regard to the first table 100, and a focal optical path is constituted between the objective optical parts of the respective mechanisms 2, 3, 4 and the optical parts behind the objective optical parts.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an eyeball photographing apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to an eyeball photographing apparatus capable of instantly performing alignment and focusing by moving an extremely lightweight objective optical unit when automatically performing alignment and focusing between the apparatus and an eye to be examined.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the field of ophthalmology, a contact type or non-contact type device for photographing each tissue of an eye to be examined has been used for examination of an eyeball. From the viewpoint of avoiding damage to the eyeball and adhesion of various bacteria, a non-contact type is preferred.

[0003] When measuring, for example, the corneal thickness of the eye to be examined in a non-contact manner, a specular system and a Shinefluke system pachometer are used.

[0004] In the specular method, a slit light focused by a lens of an observation mechanism is radiated to the apex of the cornea from an oblique front of the eye to be examined, and the light is totally reflected by epithelial cells and endothelial cells of the cornea. Is detected by a detection means obliquely in front of the cornea to measure the corneal thickness.

[0005] In the Shine Fluke method, a slit light focused by a lens of an observation mechanism is perpendicularly radiated to a corneal apex, which is a point closest to a measuring device in a cornea of an eye to be examined, so that a corneal epithelial cell constituting the cornea is converted from a corneal epithelial cell. In this method, the light is diffusely reflected in the entire layer up to the endothelial cells, and the diffusely reflected light is photographed by a photographing device obliquely in front of the cornea to obtain a cross-sectional image of the cornea and measure the corneal thickness.

In this case, an operation of aligning the optical axis of the corneal observation mechanism with the vertex of the cornea in advance (alignment operation or aiming operation) so that the slit light narrowed by the lens of the corneal observation mechanism is perpendicularly incident on the vertex of the cornea. And the operation of focusing the lens of the corneal observation mechanism on the subject (mainly the corneal vertex) (referred to as focusing or focusing operation) is performed manually by an ophthalmologist while observing the subject visually. It is done by.

That is, the ophthalmologist manually moves the corneal thickness measuring device in the up, down, left, and right directions so that the alignment index light applied to the subject's eye is positioned on the subject's part to be examined. In addition, the subject's eye is fixed by causing the subject to gaze at a fixation lamp illuminated on the subject's eye, and the direction of the subject's eye is changed by moving the fixation lamp and causing the subject to track the fixation lamp. It is moved to align the optical axis of the measuring device with a desired portion to be examined on the cornea. The alignment operation is performed by such a method.

In addition, the corneal thickness measuring device is also manually moved in the front-rear direction (the direction in which the corneal thickness measuring device moves forward and backward toward the eye to be examined).
And performing the focusing operation.

Therefore, measurement of corneal thickness requires considerable skill, even for an ophthalmologist.

[0010] On the other hand, in addition to the measurement of the corneal thickness, in the field of ophthalmological treatment, it may be necessary to examine the eyeball of a patient lying prone on a bed. However, even a skilled ophthalmologist cannot move the device in a short time because the entire device having a relatively large weight is moved for the alignment operation and the focusing operation. It cannot be located near the patient's eye. Therefore, the realization of a handy-type eyeball photographing apparatus capable of accurate alignment and focusing cannot be expected.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, and is intended to provide an eyeball photographing apparatus with an examination part photographing mechanism and an alignment mechanism necessary for photographing an examinee's eye. Regarding the focusing mechanism, a lens system etc. is configured so that there is an afocal optical path between the objective optical section of each mechanism and the rear optical section including the imaging optical section etc. The optical unit is configured to be able to move relative to the machine frame for alignment and focusing operations.

[0012] The objective optics is extremely lightweight due to its separation from the other optics and can be easily and quickly moved by a small drive. As a result, not only the whole apparatus becomes lighter, but also the alignment operation and the focusing operation are performed instantaneously, so that the problem of so-called camera shake at the time of photographing is solved even when the photographing device is a handy type.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An eyeball photographing apparatus according to the present invention captures an image of a part to be inspected by detecting illumination light reflected on the part to be inspected of an eye to be inspected, which is disposed on a machine frame. An alignment mechanism for aligning the optical axis with the corneal vertex based on a Purkinje image, which is a corneal reflection image of parallel light emitted from the front to the corneal vertex, and an oblique reflection from the cornea An eyeball photographing apparatus including a focusing mechanism for determining a focusing position by detecting irradiation slit light from the front,
The objective optical units in the subject imaging mechanism, the alignment mechanism, and the focusing mechanism are configured to be relatively moved with respect to the machine frame for alignment and focusing operations. It is characterized in that it is configured so that an afocal optical path is formed between the optical unit behind the optical unit.

Therefore, since the portion of the optical path displaced by the relative movement is just parallel light, the illumination light or the like does not shift in the optical path even if the relative movement of the objective optical unit causes the image forming optical unit or the like. Can be received. Therefore, it is possible to photograph the test site of the eyeball. Above all, when performing the alignment operation and the focusing operation, it is only necessary to move the extremely lightweight objective optical unit, which is advantageous in that the above operation is completed instantaneously. As a result, even if the examiner holds the device in his / her hand and photographs the site to be inspected of the eyeball, there is no risk of camera shake, so that a handy type device can be provided.

The term "rearward" in the claims refers to the opposite direction when the direction in which the subject's eye is located is the front. The objective optical unit refers to an optical unit including optical elements such as a converging lens and a parallelizing lens facing the subject's eye.

[0016] In this eyeball photographing apparatus, the cornea irradiating means for irradiating the subject part photographing mechanism with slit light converged on a cornea vertex from obliquely forward of the subject's eye,
A corneal thickness measuring mechanism having a corneal photographing means for photographing the slit light from the cornea totally obliquely from the eye to be examined, and the alignment mechanism is configured by parallel light radiated from the front to the apex of the cornea. Coaxial imaging means for capturing a Purkinje image as a corneal reflection image, and an objective optical section of an alignment mechanism for aligning the optical axis of the corneal irradiation means with the vertex of the eye to be inspected based on a signal from the concentric imaging means Moving means for moving the focus mechanism, the focus mechanism, the focus detection means for detecting the reflected light near the apex of the cornea, the focal point of the corneal irradiation means from the focus detection means A moving means for moving the objective optical unit of the corneal thickness measuring mechanism so as to match the center of the portion to be inspected based on a signal; Preferable in that type of corneal thickness measuring device can be configured. According to the corneal thickness measurement mechanism, the total reflected light in the cornea, since there is also reflected light in the corneal endothelium and corneal epithelium, it is possible to measure the corneal thickness from the captured image, In addition, it is possible to confirm the corneal tissue from the captured image.

Further, the subject site photographing mechanism irradiates the cornea vertex with slit light converged on the apex of the cornea from the front, and captures the diffused light of the slit light from the cornea obliquely from the eye to be examined. A corneal thickness measuring mechanism having a corneal cross-section imaging means, wherein the alignment mechanism captures a Purkinje image, which is a corneal reflection image by parallel light radiated from the front to the apex of the cornea; Moving means for moving an objective optical section of an alignment mechanism to match an optical axis of the corneal irradiation means to a vertex of the eye to be inspected based on a signal from an axis imaging means, wherein the focusing mechanism comprises: Focus detection means for detecting reflected light in the vicinity, and the focus of the cornea irradiation means to match the center of the portion to be detected based on a signal from the focus detection means In the one and a moving means for moving the objective optical unit of the film thickness measuring mechanism, preferably in that the handy type corneal thickness measuring apparatus according Shine Fluke scheme can be configured. According to the corneal thickness measuring mechanism, it is possible to confirm a corneal cross-sectional image and measure the corneal thickness from the image.

Further, it is preferable that all the objective optical units in the above-mentioned eyeball photographing apparatus are constituted by a single lens system, since the above-mentioned effects can be achieved with a simpler structure.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An eyeball photographing apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic layout diagram showing an embodiment of an eyeball photographing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing an example of an image obtained by the corneal photographing apparatus in the eyeball photographing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic layout diagram showing a main part of another embodiment of the eyeball photographing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic layout diagram showing still another embodiment of the eyeball photographing apparatus of the present invention.

The eyeball photographing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus for measuring the corneal thickness of the eye E to be inspected by a specular method (hereinafter referred to as a corneal thickness measuring apparatus). The equipment constituting the corneal thickness measuring device 1 includes a first table 100 and a second table 200 which also constitute the corneal thickness measuring device 1.
It is arranged above. The second table 200 is different from the first table 100 by the first table 10.
It is moved in the vertical direction (X direction) and the left and right direction (Y direction) by an X drive 101 and a Y drive 102 disposed at 0. Thereby, an alignment operation becomes possible. Further, the second table 200 can be moved in the front-rear direction (Z direction) with respect to the first table 100 by the Z driving device 103. This enables a focusing operation. Here, the Z direction is a direction in which the eye E approaches and retreats, and the X direction and the Y direction are directions perpendicular to the Z direction.

The instruments constituting the corneal thickness measuring device 1 include a corneal photographing mechanism 2 for photographing the cornea in order to measure the corneal thickness of the eye E, and a part to be examined of the eye to be examined before photographing the cornea. An alignment mechanism 3 for fixing, and a focus of the corneal imaging mechanism 2 (specifically, a corneal irradiation unit 2 described later)
A focusing mechanism 4 for matching the two focal points is provided.

The alignment operation in the present embodiment is described by taking as an example the case where the optical axis of the alignment mechanism 3 is made coincident with the optical axis Ae of the eye to be inspected (the center of the cornea is on the optical axis of the alignment mechanism 3). However, the present invention is not particularly limited to the optical axis Ae of the eye to be inspected, and the optical axis of the alignment mechanism 3 can be made to coincide with the axis of the eye to be inspected that passes through other than the center of the cornea.

The corneal photographing mechanism 2 is configured as follows. That is, the illumination light from the cornea irradiation means 21 composed of a strobe discharge tube is converted into slit light by passing through the slit 22, and the slit light is converted into parallel light by the parallelizing lens 23. The collimated slit light is directed from a diagonal front of the subject's eye E toward the subject by a pair of first mirrors 24, and is converged on the subject by a converging lens 25. Here, the optical path from the converging lens 25 to the test site is represented by A1.

The slit light is totally reflected by the corneal epithelium and endothelium at the corneal apex T of the eye E to be examined. here,
The optical path of the totally reflected light at the corneal vertex T is represented by A2. Both slit lights reflected by the epithelium and the endothelium are collimated by a collimating lens 26, then directed by a pair of second mirrors 27 to a corneal photographing means 28, and converged by a converging lens 29 on the corneal photographing means 28. Is done. As the cornea photographing means 28, a video camera (CCD) is used. Therefore, the light reflected by the endothelium of the cornea and the light reflected by the epithelium enter the light-receiving surface of the cornea photographing means 28,
As shown in FIG. 2, an image M of the endothelium (slit shape) and an image N of the epithelium (slit shape) are photographed. Slit-shaped image M,
N has a protruding portion formed at the upper portion thereof. This is for calculating the corneal thickness from the distance D between the protruding portion of the endothelial image M and the protruding portion of the epithelial image N, and has a slit shape.

The first and second mirrors 24,
Reference numeral 27 is used to change the optical path for the purpose of making the entire apparatus compact.

In the corneal photographing mechanism 2, a converging lens 25 and a collimating lens 2 which constitute a so-called objective optical unit are provided.
6 and the first and second mirrors 24 and 27 are disposed on the second table 200,
00. Also, as described above,
Between the objective optical section of the corneal photographing mechanism 2 and the components on the first table 100, the light is formed as parallel light, in other words, as an afocal light path.

As described above, the corneal thickness is measured from the position of the images M and N incident on the corneal photographing means 28 by an arithmetic unit (not shown). That is, the actual corneal thickness is calculated from the measured value by the arithmetic unit of the corneal photographing means 28 which has been calibrated in advance by the test piece.

The corneal thickness photographing mechanism 2 configured as described above
Is used to measure the corneal thickness, but in order to accurately measure the thickness of the cornea, it is necessary to make the slit-shaped illumination light incident on the corneal apex T, which is the test site. Therefore, prior to photographing the cornea, aiming of the apparatus is performed as follows.
Adjust the focus before focusing.

First, the alignment mechanism 3 has its optical axis A
Reference numeral 3 denotes the center between the incident light path A1 of the illumination light to the corneal vertex T and the total reflection light path A2 from the corneal vertex T, that is, the angle formed by the optical axis A3 of the alignment mechanism 3 between the light path A1 and the light path A2. It is set to be a virtual straight line. Specifically, the alignment mechanism 3 is configured as follows. That is, the alignment light from the alignment irradiating means 31 in which the collimating lens is incorporated becomes parallel light, and the first half mirror 32 outputs the optical axis A3.
Along the direction, the anterior segment of the eye E is vertically irradiated.

The half mirror transmits approximately 50% of the light applied to the front and rear surfaces thereof and transmits approximately 50% of the light.
It reflects 0%.

The alignment light from the alignment irradiating means 31 also serves as a fixation lamp for the eye E to be examined, and a near infrared light source provided with an infrared filter, a visible light filter, or the like is employed. When the subject gazes at the fixation lamp, the subject's eye E is fixed, and the subject's eye E
Is determined in one direction. On the other hand, the alignment light as the parallel light is reflected by the anterior segment, and is reflected by the second half mirror 3.
After passing through the lens 2, the light is once converted into parallel light by a parallelizing lens 33, and then converged by a converging lens 34 on a light receiving surface of a video camera as an anterior ocular segment imaging device 35. The anterior ocular segment imaging device 35 captures the reflected light from the anterior ocular segment as a light spot called a Purkinje image. Then, the control device (not shown), which has received the video signal from the anterior ocular segment imaging device 35, causes the second table 200 to move the light spot to the center of the video screen.
The X-driving device 101 is operated in order to move in the X-direction, and the Y-driving device 102 is operated in order to move in the Y-direction, so that the optical axis A3 of the alignment mechanism 3 coincides with the optical axis Ae of the eye E to be examined. .

At this time, the first table 100 does not move, but the collimating lens 33 and one component of the imaging optical unit, which are components of a so-called objective optical unit (components disposed on the second table 200). Since the converging lens 34 is configured as an afocal optical path that becomes parallel light, even if the objective optical unit moves a little, no deviation occurs between the optical axes A3 and Ae. This is because the aforementioned corneal imaging mechanism 2
The same applies to the first table 100 and the converging lens 25 and the parallelizing lens 26, which are components of the objective optical unit.
Since the upper collimating lens 23 and the converging lens 29 are configured as an afocal optical path, the optical paths A2 and A3 do not shift. This is apparent from FIG.

After the aim is determined in this way, a focusing operation is performed by the focusing mechanism 4 configured as follows. That is, as shown in the figure, the light from the focusing irradiation unit 41 is directed toward the eye E along the illumination optical path A1 of the corneal photographing mechanism by the second half mirror 42 disposed in front of the corneal irradiation unit 21. Sent. That is, the slit 22
After being converted into slit light by the collimating lens 23 and converted into parallel light by the collimating lens 23,
Converges. The slit light totally reflected by the subject's eye E travels along the above-described optical path A2 in the same manner as the corneal imaging illumination light, and is once converted into parallel light by the parallelizing lens 26, and then becomes third half light. The optical path is bent by the mirror 43 and is converged on the corneal endothelium detecting means 44 by the converging lens 29. As the corneal endothelium detecting means 44, a light receiving element (PSD) is used. The reflection point at which the total reflection light of the focusing slit light is reflected so as to enter the light receiving point of the corneal endothelium detecting means 44 coincides with the convergence point of the corneal imaging illumination light (the focal point F of the converging lens 25). It is configured to be. With this configuration, first, the Z
The second table 200 is advanced by the driving device 103. In other words, the second table 200 is brought close to the eye E, and the corneal endothelium detecting means 44 performs focusing when the reflected light of the focusing slit light by the corneal apex T is detected. Z drive 10
3 is stopped, and the operation of the corneal photographing mechanism 2 is started. Second table 20 during focusing operation
As described above, since the afocal optical path is formed between the objective optical unit and the other optical units even if 0 advances, the focusing operation is not adversely affected and the alignment is shifted. Nor.

Note that the focusing operation is performed by advancing the second table 200 provided with the objective optical unit, in advance, at a position where the focal point of the objective optical unit is located behind the target site (corneal vertex T) ( This is because the neutral position is set as the position (the position retreated to the device side from the test site). By doing so, the movement of the second table 200 can always be advancing toward the subject's eye E during the focusing operation, so that focusing becomes easy.

FIG. 3 shows a main part of a corneal thickness measuring device 11 having another structure. The present apparatus 11 is based on the same principle as the corneal thickness measuring apparatus 1, but shows the features of the present invention more clearly.

That is, the objective optical section of the corneal photographing mechanism 2 is constituted by a single lens (hereinafter referred to as an objective lens) 12. This lens 12 is used as the corneal irradiation means 2
1 and the collimating lenses 26 and 33 for collimating the reflected light from the eye E to be examined. The collimating lens 23 and the converging lens 29 for the corneal photographing illumination light and the focusing light, and the converging lens 34 for the alignment light are separately provided similarly to the corneal thickness measuring device 1 (FIG. 1). Have been. In the drawing, the solid line indicates that when the corneal apex T of the eye E does not actually exist there, if there is the corneal apex T, each light will be reflected and reach the imaging units 28 and 35. The virtual optical path and the objective lens 12 are shown. On the other hand, what is indicated by a broken line and a two-dot chain line shows the optical path and the objective lens 12 when alignment and focusing are achieved. Even when the objective lens 12 is moved by the alignment operation and the focusing operation of the device 11 (shown by broken lines), each of the above-mentioned lights reaches the imaging units 28 and 35 as shown by hatching in the figure.

This is the same as the device 1 of FIG. 1 described above, except that the afocal optical path is provided between the objective optical unit and the imaging optical unit. As described above, since only the lightweight objective optical unit is moved for the alignment operation and the focusing operation, the alignment and focusing can be performed instantaneously and the photographing operation can be started.
It is also possible to hold the device in your hand for optometry.

The configuration which can provide such excellent effects can be applied not only to the specular type corneal thickness measuring apparatus but also to a Shine Fluke type apparatus.

Hereinafter, a Shine-fluke type corneal thickness measuring apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. Since the illustrated corneal thickness measuring device 51 is of the Shine-Fluke type, the specular method of capturing the total reflection light on the cornea in that the corneal imaging mechanism 52 captures the irregular reflection light on the cornea of the eye E as described above. Unlike the corneal thickness measuring device 1 (FIG. 1), the alignment mechanism 53 and the focusing mechanism 54 are the same as those of the specular type. Further, the optical instruments of this device 51 are disposed on the first table 100,
Among them, an objective optical unit described later is disposed on the second table 200. The second table 200 is configured to be able to move relative to the first table 100 in each of the XYZ directions. In this figure, the illustration of the driving device is omitted.

First, the corneal photographing mechanism 52 applies illumination light from a strobe discharge tube as the corneal irradiation means 55 to the slit 5.
After passing through 6, the light passes through the collimating lens 57 and the converging lens 58 and irradiates the corneal vertex T of the eye E from the front. Then, the irregularly reflected light of the slit light on the cornea reaches the video camera as the corneal section photographing means 61 through the parallelizing lens 59, the second mirror 27, and the converging lens 60 from obliquely forward of the eye E. By doing so, the corneal section is photographed by the corneal section photographing means 61. The corneal thickness is calculated by an image input / output control circuit (not shown) based on the video signal from the corneal section photographing means 61.

In the alignment mechanism 53, the parallel light reflected by the first half mirror 32 from the alignment irradiating means 31 and vertically incident on the anterior segment of the eye E is reflected by the anterior segment of the eye E, Lens (convergent lens in corneal photographing mechanism 52) 58 and convergent lens 3
4 and converge on the light receiving surface of the anterior ocular segment imaging device 35. Then, the second table 2 is used to position the Purkinje image, which is the reflected light of the parallel light in the anterior segment, at the center of the screen.
Move 00. As a result, the optical axis Ae of the eye E and the optical axis A4 of the alignment mechanism 53 coincide with each other, and the aim is determined. In addition, the anterior ocular segment imaging device 35 deviates from the optical axis A4.
The half mirror 62 is provided so as to converge on the light receiving surface of the light emitting device.

In the focusing mechanism 54, the focusing irradiation means 4
The slit light passing through the slit 63 from 1 passes through the collimating lens 64, the first mirror 24, and the converging lens 65 and converges on the anterior segment of the eye E to be examined. The light passes through the collimating lens 59 and the converging lens 60 of the corneal imaging mechanism 52 along the optical path A2 of the reflected light, and can be detected by the focus detection unit 66. When it is detected, it is focused (focused).

In the present corneal thickness measuring device 51, the reflection point of the light to be detected by the focus detection means 66 at the anterior segment of the eye E (corneal apex T) is converged by the corneal photographing mechanism 52. The focal point F of the lens 58 is constituted.

The corneal thickness measuring device 5 configured as described above
In FIG. 1, first, a second table 20 on which an objective optical unit is disposed is provided.
0 is moved in the X and Y directions by the driving devices 101 and 102 to determine an aim, and then the second table 200 is moved to the driving device 10.
The lens is moved in the Z direction by 3 to bring the eye closer to the eye to be examined, and focus is performed. A focus signal is sent from a focus detection circuit (not shown) connected to the focus detection means 66 to the corneal irradiation means 55, and imaging of the corneal cross section is started.

In the Shine-fluke type corneal thickness measuring apparatus 51 of this embodiment, as described above, the lenses 58, 59, 65, which are the objective optical sections, and the lenses 34, 57, 60, Between 64, it becomes a parallel light (it is an afocal optical path). Therefore, alignment and focusing can be performed by integrally moving the objective optical unit in the X, Y, and Z directions.
Therefore, since only the lightweight objective optical section is moved, alignment and focusing can be performed instantaneously, and the photographing operation can be started, so that it is possible to hold the apparatus and examine the eye.

In the embodiment described above, only the objective optical unit is arranged on the second table 200 which can be relatively moved.
The present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the alignment irradiation unit 31 and the second half mirror 32 in front of the objective optical unit in FIGS. 1 and 4 may be arranged on the second table 200. This is because the weight does not increase significantly.

In this embodiment, the corneal thickness measuring device has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not particularly limited to the corneal thickness measuring device, and a corneal tissue photographing device, a fundus photographing device, an intraocular pressure measuring device, and others. It can also be applied to the eye photographing apparatus and the like. Also, it is clear that the present invention can be applied to the case where the focusing mechanism or the like is changed to another method in the corneal thickness measuring device.

[0049]

According to the eyeball photographing apparatus of the present invention, (1) the alignment operation and the focusing operation are performed by moving the extremely lightweight objective optical section up and down, left and right, and back and forth, so Is aligned and focused.

(2) Therefore, even when the subject's eye is photographed while holding the entire apparatus by hand, alignment and focusing are performed instantaneously, so that there is no concern about adverse effects due to so-called camera shake. Ophthalmic examinations will also be possible.

(3) Since the objective optical section is moved, the weight of the driving device is reduced, and the weight of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic layout diagram showing one embodiment of an eyeball photographing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing an example of a video image obtained by a corneal imaging device in the eyeball imaging device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic layout diagram showing a main part of another embodiment of the eyeball photographing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic layout diagram showing still another embodiment of the eyeball photographing apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 11, 51: corneal thickness measuring device 2, 52: corneal photographing mechanism 3, 53: alignment mechanism 4, 54: focusing mechanism 21, 55: corneal irradiation means 28 ...・ Cornea photographing means 31 ・ ・ ・ Alignment irradiation means 35 ・ ・ ・ Anterior segment photographing apparatus 41 ・ ・ ・ Focused irradiation means 61 ・ ・ ・ Cornea cross section photographing means 66 ・ ・ ・ Focus detection means 101 ・ ・ ・ X drive Device 102: Y drive device 103: Z drive device 100: First table 200: Second table E: Eye to be examined T: Corneal vertex

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image capturing mechanism for detecting a portion of a subject's eye by detecting illumination light reflected from the portion of the subject's eye, which is disposed on a machine frame. An alignment mechanism for matching the optical axis to the corneal vertex based on the Purkinje image, which is a corneal reflection image due to parallel light emitted from the front, and an in-focus position by detecting irradiation slit light reflected by the cornea In an eyeball photographing apparatus comprising a focusing mechanism for determining, the objective optical unit in the subject region photographing mechanism, the alignment mechanism and the focusing mechanism is aligned with the machine frame for alignment and focusing operation. An eyeball characterized in that it is configured to be relatively moved, and is configured to have an afocal optical path between each objective optical unit and an optical unit behind the objective optical unit. Shooting equipment. 2. A cornea irradiating means for irradiating a slit light converged on a vertex of a cornea from an oblique front of an eye to be inspected, and a total reflection light of the slit light in the cornea from the eye to be inspected. And a corneal thickness measuring mechanism having a corneal photographing means for photographing obliquely from the front of the eye, wherein the alignment mechanism captures a Purkinje image as a corneal reflection image by parallel light irradiated from the front to the apex of the cornea. And moving means for moving the objective optical section of the alignment mechanism so that the optical axis of the combined axis imaging means coincides with the vertex of the eye to be inspected based on a signal from the combined axis imaging means. The focusing mechanism detects a reflected light near the apex of the cornea, and sets a focal point of the corneal irradiating unit to a portion to be detected based on a signal from the focusing detection unit. in the center Itasa moving means and the eyeball photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein comprising a for moving the objective optical unit of the corneal thickness measuring mechanism in order to. 3. A corneal irradiating means for irradiating a slit light converged on a cornea vertex from the front, and an image of irregularly reflected light of the slit light from the cornea obliquely in front of an eye to be inspected. A corneal thickness measurement mechanism having a corneal cross-section imaging means, and the alignment mechanism, a concentric imaging means for imaging a Purkinje image as a corneal reflection image by parallel light irradiated from the front to the apex of the cornea, Moving means for moving an objective optical unit of an alignment mechanism so that an optical axis of the corneal irradiation means coincides with an apex of the eye to be inspected based on a signal from the in-axis imaging means; A mechanism for detecting focus light in the vicinity of the vertex of the cornea and a focus detection unit for detecting reflected light near the vertex of the cornea; Claim 1 eye imaging apparatus according comprising a moving means for moving the objective optical unit of the serial corneal thickness measurement mechanism. 4. The eyeball photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said all objective optical unit comprises a single lens system.