Patent Application
20130010262
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and an imaging method, in particular, to an imaging apparatus and an imaging method of an optical coherence tomographic image of a test object using a plurality of measurement light beams.
In recent years, in medical fields, more specifically in ophthalmic field, imaging apparatuses (hereinafter, also referred to as OCT apparatus) have been used, the apparatuses each picking up tomographic images (hereinafter, also referred to as optical coherence tomographic image) of a test object using optical coherence tomography (OCT) based on interference of low coherence light. The OCT apparatuses utilize light properties, and thereby can obtain tomographic images of high resolution with an order of light wavelength which is micrometer.
Generally, the point where the difference between an optical path length of a measurement light beam and that of a reference light beam is zero is called a coherence gate. It is essential to locate a coherence gate at a proper position on a test object's eye to obtain a tomographic image of a high signal to noise (SN) ratio and to display the tomographic image at a proper position on a monitor. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-160190 discusses an OCT apparatus in which a position of a coherence gate can be specified by moving a cursor displayed on a monitor to facilitate the specification of coherence gate position by user.
While a test object's eye such as fundus is measured, the test object's movements, eye blinks, or random slight motions (i.e., involuntary eye movement during visualfixation) are inevitable. These factors deform a tomographic image of the test object's eye obtained by an OCT apparatus.
Japanese Translation of PCT International Application Publication No. 2008-508068 discusses an OCT that emits a plurality of measurement light beams to a pupil (anterior eye part) to quickly obtain an image of the three dimensional structure of the pupil. In the OCT, a radiation area per beam can be reduced, resulting in quick pickup of a three dimensional structure image.
In such imaging apparatuses that pick up optical coherence tomographic images of a test object using a plurality of measurement light beams, it is useful that each of measurement light beams (or each of optical coherence tomographic images) can be separately controlled from the viewpoint of convenience of the users. The above recited patents do not refer to improvement of convenience of the users or control of each of measurement light beams.
An imaging apparatus according to the present invention is able to specify a position of a coherence gate corresponding to a plurality of measurement light beams and to display each of optical coherence tomographic images of a test object using a plurality of measurement light beams, on a display unit. Thus the imaging apparatus, improves the controllability of each of measurement light beams (or each of optical coherence tomographic images) so that the imaging apparatus can be convenient for the users.
According to an aspect of the present invention, an imaging apparatus is provided, the apparatus capturing an optical coherence tomographic image of a test object based on a plurality of combined light beams that are obtained by combining a plurality of return light beams from the test object irradiated with a plurality of measurement light beams and a plurality of reference light beams respectively corresponding to the plurality of measurement light beams, and includes an instruction unit configured to give instructions about amounts of changes in respective optical path length differences between the plurality of reference light beams and the plurality of return light beams; and a change unit configured to change the optical path length differences based on the amounts of changes instructed by the instruction unit.
Further features and aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
An imaging apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment is described with reference to
An imaging apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment captures optical coherence tomographic images of a test object using a plurality of measurement light beams. In other words, the imaging apparatus captures optical coherence tomographic images of a test object based on a plurality of combined light beams obtained by combining a plurality of return light beams from a test object that is irradiated with a plurality of measurement light beams and a plurality of reference light beams respectively corresponding to the plurality of measurement light beams. From another view point, the imaging apparatus (hereinafter, also referred to as OCT apparatus) captures tomographic images of a test object (hereinafter, also referred to as optical coherence tomographic image) by optical coherence tomography (OCT) using interference of a plurality of low coherence light beams.
An imaging apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment includes an instruction unit 12 configured to give instructions about amounts of changes in respective optical path length differences between a plurality of reference light beams and a plurality of return light beams. In other words, the instruction unit 12 give instructions about coherence gate positions. The coherence gate position refers to a position where the above optical path length difference is zero.
The imaging apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment further includes a change unit 11 configured to change optical path length differences based on the amounts of changes instructed by the instruction unit 12. The change unit 11 can change the optical path lengths of the reference light beams individually. The change unit 11 can include moving units 17 (e.g., movable stages 117) configured to move reference mirrors included therein respectively in an optical axis direction thereof, the mirrors being disposed in the optical paths of the plurality of reference light beams respectively. The change unit 11 may further include a control unit 16 configured to control the moving units 17. In this case, the control unit 16 may be incorporated in a computer 125.
The above structure facilitates to give instructions about an amount of change in an optical path length difference corresponding to each of the measurement light beams (or a coherence gate position). Consequently, each of measurement light beams (or each of optical coherence tomographic images) can be easily controlled, enhancing the convenience for the users.
The instruction unit 12 can include a first instruction unit 13 configured to give instructions about the amounts of changes individually, and a second instruction unit 14 configured to give instructions about the amounts of changes in association with one another. This configuration enables to specify different positions for different coherence gates individually and also to specify the positions together at one time, further enhancing the convenience for the users.
When the imaging apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment is used to capture tomographic images of a test object's eye fundus, the imaging apparatus can further include an irradiation unit configured to irradiate the test object's eye with a plurality of measurement light beams such that the beams intersect with one another at the anterior eye part of the test object's eye (such that the anterior eye part is irradiated with the intersected beams). The irradiation unit enables irradiation of a wide area (wide angle of view) on the test object's eye fundus with a plurality of measurement light beams. In the present exemplary embodiment with the irradiation unit, the instruction unit 12 can further include a unit configured to give instructions about an amount of the change based on the features (e.g., shape and aberration) of a test object's eye. This is because the optical path lengths of a plurality of measurement light beams may be different depending on the features of a test object's eye. In such structure, coherence gate positions respectively corresponding to a plurality of measurement light beams can be individually changed, further enhancing the convenience for the users. The irradiation unit can have a scan unit (e.g., XY scanner 119) configured to scan a plurality of measurement light beams, and a light concentrating position change unit (e.g., lens 120-2) configured to change a light concentrating position in the depth direction of a fundus.
The imaging apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment can further include, from the viewpoint of convenience of the users, an instruction display control unit 15 configured to display images 22 corresponding to functions of the instruction unit 12 on a display unit (e.g., monitor 130). The images 22 may be for example icons, sliders 604-1 to 604-4 in
The imaging apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment can further include a tomographic image display control unit (not illustrated) configured to display each of tomographic images of a test object generated based on a plurality of combined light beams. The tomographic image display control unit enables the instruction display control unit 15 to display images each corresponding to the functions of the instruction units on the display unit in association with the tomographic images respectively (e.g., an image next to the associated tomographic image as illustrated in
The imaging apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment can further include an intersecting image display control unit (not illustrated) configured to display an intersecting image of a test object on the display unit, the image being captured from a direction intersecting with the direction in which the test object is irradiated with a plurality of measurement light beams. The intersecting image refers to at least one of a two dimensional image of a fundus surface (i.e., fundus image), a multiplied image of at least a part of tomographic images captured in the depth direction of a fundus, and a tomographic image (i.e., C scan image) captured in the direction approximately perpendicular to the depth direction of a fundus. When the intersecting image display control unit is provided, the present exemplary embodiment can further include a position display control unit (not illustrated) configured to display the positions of the tomographic images (e.g., scan positions 606-1 to 606-3 in
The present exemplary embodiment can further include an image information display control unit (not illustrated) configured to display images (e.g., bars 605-1 to 605-3 in
The type of OCT applicable to the present exemplary embodiment is described. There are generally two types of OCT: Time Domain OCT (TD-OCT) and Fourier-domain OCT (FD-OCT). In the former type, a reference light beam has a controlled optical path length to change a position to capture a tomographic image, while in the latter type, data in the direction of an eye depth (the optical axis direction of an optical system) can be obtained at one time.
The Fourier-domain OCT can be divided into two types: Spectral Domain OCT (SD-OCT) and Swept Source OCT (SS-OCT). In the former type, interfered light beams are dispersed by a diffraction grating, and the dispersed beams are detected by a line sensor, while in the latter type, a wavelength tunable (i.e., capable of sweeping a wavelength) light source is used. Currently, the Spectral Domain OCT is mainly used because data in the direction of an eye depth can be obtained at higher speed than in the Time Domain OCT. An imaging apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment may be configured to have a division unit to divide light from a light source into measurement light beams and reference light beams, and a combination unit configured to combine return light beams from a test object's eye with the reference light beams as one combined unit (as a Michelson interferometer). Alternatively, an imaging apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment may have the division unit and the combination unit separately (as a Mach-Zehnder interferometer).
The basic structure of an imaging apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment (hereinafter, also referred to as OCT apparatus) is described with reference to
A light source 101 emits a light beam 104. The emitted light beam 104 travels through a single mode optical fiber 110 and enters an optical coupler 156. At the optical coupler 156, the emitted light beam 104 is divided into three emitted light beams 104-1 to 104-3 that travel through first to third optical paths respectively. The three emitted light beams 104-1 to 104-3 respectively pass through polarization controllers 153-1. At the optical couplers 131-1 to 131-3 the three emitted light beams 104-1 to 104-3 are divided into reference light beams 105-1 to 105-3 and measurement light beams 106-1 to 106-3 respectively. The three measurement light beams 106-1 to 106-3 impinge a target point to be measured such as those on a retina 127 of a test object's eye 107 to be observed, and are reflected or scattered by the points. The reflected or scattered light beams 106-1 to 106-3 return from the points as return light beams 108-1 to 108-3 respectively. The return light beams 108-1 to 108-3 are combined with the reference light beams 105-1 to 105-3 that have travelled through reference optical paths, to become combined light beams 142-1 to 142-3 respectively. The combined light beams 142-1 to 142-3 are dispersed into their constituent wavelengths by a transmission diffraction grating 141, and enter a line sensor 139. The line sensor 139 includes sensor elements each of which converts the light intensity of each wavelength into a voltage. The signals of the converted voltages are used to generate a tomography image of the test object's eye 107.
The reference optical paths for the reference light beams 105 are described. The reference light beams 105-1 to 105-3 divided at the optical couplers 131-1 to 131-3 pass through polarization controllers 153-2 respectively, and become approximately parallel to one another at the lenses 135-1, and exit the lenses. The reference light beams 105-1 to 105-3 then pass through a dispersion compensator glass 115 and lenses 135-2 to be focused on mirrors 114-1 to 114-3 respectively. The reference light beams 105-1 to 105-3 are then reflected by the mirrors 114-1 to 114-3 and travel toward the optical couplers 131-1 to 131-3 respectively again. The reference light beams 105-1 to 105-3 pass through the optical couplers 131-1 to 131-3 to the line sensor 139. The dispersion compensator glass 115 compensates the reference light beam 105 for the dispersion that is caused when the measurement light beams 106 travel the test object's eye 107 and the scanning optical system back and forth.
Motorized stages 117-1 to 117-3 moves in the directions illustrated by the arrows in
The measurement light beam paths of the measurement light beams 106 are described. The measurement light beams 106 generated at the optical couplers 131-1 to 131-3 respectively pass through the polarization controllers 153-4 and become approximately parallel light at the lens 120-3, and exit the lens to enter mirrors of an XY scanner 119 composing a scanning optical system. Only one XY scanner 119 is illustrated in
The motorized stage 117-4 is movable in the direction illustrated by the arrow in
The structure of a detection system is described. The return light beams 108-1 to 108-3 which are reflected or scattered by the retina 127 and the reference light beams 105-1 to 105-3 are combined with one another at the optical couplers 131-1 to 131-3. The combined light beams 142-1 to 3 each enter a spectrometer to measure spectra of the beams 142-1 to 142-3. The spectra are processed by the computer 125 to be reconstructed, resulting in a tomographic image of the retina 127.
The reconstruction process may follow a typical generation process for OCT images, and a tomographic image can be obtained through fixed noise reduction, conversion of wavelength to wavenumber, and Fourier transform.
In
In the present exemplary embodiment, one measurement light beam scans 512 lines in the x direction and 200 lines in the y direction for example. In the y direction, however, three measurement light beams scan 512 lines except the overlapped regions, and eventually the rectangular area surrounded by the dashed line in
Meanwhile, a near infrared ray source 180 emits a near infrared light beam 190. The near infrared light beam 190 travels along a half mirror 200, an illumination optical system 150, and a dichroic mirror 190 disposed in the measurement light beam path, and illuminates the fundus 127. Reflected by the fundus 127, the infrared light beam 190 again travels the same optical path, and passes along a half mirror 200 and an image forming optical system 160 and forms an image on a two-dimensional area sensor 170. The resulting two dimensional image of the fundus is input to the computer 125. The two dimensional image is used to observe the image pickup area of fundus captured by the OCT apparatus.
Next, alignment of measurement light beams and setting of a coherence gate position that are essential in the above described image capturing in a second exemplary embodiment are described with reference to
In step S100, an operator inputs information to the computer 125, the information including a patient name and a patient ID that specify a subject. Once input, the information is stored in a storage device such as a hard disk in the computer 125. Receiving the information, prior to image capturing, a control program displays a screen through which the operator determines setting of an image pickup area.
In step S200, the control program displays a user interface on the monitor 130 to set an image pickup area.
The lines representing scan positions 606-1 to 606-3 of the three measurement light beams are displayed superimposing on the two dimensional image of the fundus 501 in the window 601. The operator of the OCT apparatus can specify a measurement position on the fundus 501 by moving a cursor 607 on the scan positions 606-1 to 606-3 with a pointing device such as a mouse connected to the computer 125. The specification is executed by the computer 125 through control of the rotation range of the XY scanner 119.
The operator of the OCT apparatus then adjusts coherence gate positions by manipulating the sliders 604-1 to 604-4. More specifically the motorized stages 117-1 to 117-3 can be moved by manipulation of the sliders 604-1 to 604-3, and thereby coherence gate positions of each measurement light beam can be adjusted through the manipulation by the operator. For example, the coherence gate position of the center measurement light beam displayed in the window 603-2 is adjusted through operation of the slider 604-2. As the slider 604-2 is shifted in the direction indicated by the arrow thereon in
The slider 604-4 controls the other three sliders, and manipulation of the slider 604-4 is linked to movements of the other three sliders. Accordingly, manipulation of the slider 604-4 causes all of the motorized stages 117-1 to 3 to move, so that all of the coherence gate positions of the measurement light beams are simultaneously adjusted.
Meanwhile, the windows 603-1 to 603-3 each continuously display a tomographic image obtained using the measurement light beams respectively. In each of progress bars 605-1 to 605-3, a bar is displayed, the bar having a length in proportion to an SN ratio calculated based on the corresponding tomographic image: the longer a bar extends in the right direction in
In step S300, after adjustment of coherence gate positions, the operator presses a start button 602 to start to capture a tomographic image. In step S400, when the capturing is completed, a resulting tomographic image is displayed on the screen for check.
The window 701 displays an integrated image 702 as a result of integrating pixel values of a tomographic image in the z direction (depth direction) of the test object's eye. Pixel values of a tomographic image of retina captured by an OCT is approximately proportional to a reflectance at the interface of each layer (difference in refractive index between layers) in the retina. Therefore the integrated image of the pixel values in the z direction of a target fundus is extremely similar to the two dimensional image of the fundus. Accordingly, display of the captured integrated image allows an operator to check for troubles of the measurement light beams due to shading (vignetting) for example in the anterior eye part (e.g., cornea).
In the present exemplary embodiment, three measurement light beams are used, and thereby the overlapped regions 508 and 509 in
A window 704 displays a tomographic image 705 for the point specified through a cursor 703 on the integrated image 702. The position of the displayed point can be changed by operating the cursor 703 using a pointing device such as a mouse. This allows a user to observe the overall fundus using integrated image 702 and also to check individual tomographic images.
A window 706 displays a fundus image detected by an area sensor 170 of a fundus observing optical system. On the fundus image also, the borders between the areas captured using the measurement light beams are displayed by a rectangular dashed line, for example, to be recognized by a user. The rectangular areas can have different colors, making the areas more recognizable.
After completing check of a tomographic image in step S500, an operator presses a save utton 707 to store the image in a storage device of the computer 125. If capturing of a new tomographic image is necessary, an operator presses a restart button 708 to return the process to step S200 to capture a new tomographic image.
As described above, an OCT apparatus using a plurality of measurement light beams includes a user interface provided with: units that correspond to the measurement light beams respectively and are configured to adjust coherence gates; and a unit configured to totally adjust the measurement light beams at one time. Thus, convenience of the apparatus for the user can be enhanced, and capturing of images of high SN ratio can be achieved.
In the present exemplary embodiment, sliders are used to adjust coherence gate positions, but the method is not limited to that and other approaches may be used. For example, scroll bars may be used. Alternatively, another operation panel may be provided to the body of an OCT apparatus, so that a plurality of dials is arranged on the panel to adjust coherence gates.
In the present exemplary embodiment, on the check screen, after image capturing, a captured tomographic image is displayed together with an integrated image to be generated and a fundus image, thereby facilitating the checking whether the imaging is normal.
AS a third exemplary embodiment, a method of setting a coherence gate position based on a test object's eye is described. In the above exemplary embodiments, coherence gate positions are set by operating corresponding sliders, but in the case where images of the test object's eye have been already captured, the images can be used to automatically set the initial position of each of the sliders. This can save considerable time in adjusting coherence gates.
More specifically, the position of the coherence gate 801-2 for the center measurement light beam 106-2 is stored as positional information of the motorized stage 117-2, and also a difference delta 1 between the coherence gates 801-2 and 801-1, and a difference delta 2 between the coherence gates 801-2 and 801-3 are stored in a storage device of the computer 125 connected to the OCT apparatus, together with identification information of the test object's eye. This storage is executed by a control processing unit (CPU) of the computer 125 based on a program that controls the OCT apparatus.
When images of the same test object's eye are captured next time, the CPU reads the identification information of the test object's eye, the position of the coherence gate 802-2, and delta 1, delta 2 from the memory, so that the pieces of the information are represented by the initial positions of the slider 604-1 to 604-3 on a user interface, and the motorized stages 117-1 to 117-3 are driven to automatically set the coherence gate positions.
As a result, the relative positional relationship between the coherence gates returns to the state identical to that at the previous image capturing, and thereby, basically, only adjustment of the position of the test object's eye relative to the OCT apparatus is required: an operator is only required to adjust the slider 604-4, which simplifies the operation for image capturing.
Aspects of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus (or devices such as a CPU or MPU) that reads out and executes a program recorded on a memory device to perform the functions of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method, the steps of which are performed by a computer of a system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing a program recorded on a memory device to perform the functions of the above-described embodiment(s). For this purpose, the program is provided to the computer for example via a network or from a recording medium of various types serving as the memory device (e.g., computer-readable medium).
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all modifications, equivalent structures, and functions.
This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-082814 filed Mar. 31, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-082814 | Mar 2010 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2011/001875 | 3/29/2011 | WO | 00 | 9/13/2012 |
