Eyeball optical measuring instrument, eyeball optical measuring method, and method for irradiating an eyeball and detecting light coming from eyeball

• US 10,349,831 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2016
• Issued: 07/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsushita, Kazuyuki, Takeda, Kazutaka, Yukawa, Kohei, Ozawa, Hideaki, Kinoshita, Taku, Nakayama, Hideo
• Primary Examiner(s): Choudhury, Mustak
• Application Number:
  US15/148,201
• Publication Number:
  US 20160249802A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,166 Days
• Field of Search: 351206, 351219, 351221, 35115973, 356 39, 356301, 356367, 356368, 600310, 600318-319, 600322, 600336, 600472
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0025 characterised by electronic signal processing, e.g. eye models
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0041 characterised by display arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/117 for examining the anterior chamber or the anterior chamber angle, e.g. gonioscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/14 Arrangements specially adapted for eye photography apparatus or arrangements for taking photographs per se G03B
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1455 using optical sensors, e.g. spectral photometrical oximeters

Abstract

An optical measuring instrument 1 is equipped with an optical system 20 to be used for measuring a characteristic of the aqueous humor in the anterior chamber 13 of an eyeball 10 of a measurement subject person and a holding unit 50 which holds the optical system 20 etc. The optical system 20 is equipped with a light emitting system 20A and a photodetecting system 20B. An optical path 28 is set so that light emitted from the light emitting system 20A passes through (traverses) the anterior chamber 13 and is detected by the photodetecting system 20B in a state that the eyeball 10 is turned outward.

Claims

1. An eyeball optical measuring instrument comprising:

a light source that emits light toward an anterior chamber of an eyeball of a measurement subject person;

a photodetecting device that detects the light that has passed through aqueous humor in the anterior chamber; and

a holding device that has (a) an external canthus side end portion that comes into contact with the measurement subject person on an external canthus side of the eyeball and (b) an internal canthus side end portion that comes into contact with the measurement subject person on an internal canthus side of the eyeball, the external canthus side end portion deviating rearward from the internal canthus side end portion, the holding device holding the light source and the photodetecting device at such positions that the light emitted from the light source passes through so as to traverse the anterior chamber and is detected by the photodetecting device in a state where a line of sight of the eyeball is directed to the external canthus side of the eyeball,

wherein the holding device holds the light source and the photodetecting device so that one of the light source and the photodetecting device placed on the internal canthus side of the eyeball is located on a front side, in a front-rear direction respective to the eyeball, of an other of the light source and the photodetecting device placed on the external canthus side of the eyeball.

2. The eyeball optical measuring instrument according to claim 1, wherein the holding device holds the light source and the photodetecting device in such a manner that at least one of them is placed outside a region where the eyeball is exposed.

3. The eyeball optical measuring instrument according to claim 1, wherein the holding device holds the light source and the photodetecting device in such a manner that both of them are placed outside a region where the eyeball is exposed.

4. An eyeball optical measuring method comprising:

causing light to pass through an anterior chamber of an eyeball of a measurement subject person in such a manner as to traverse the anterior chamber in a state where a line of sight of the eyeball is directed to an external canthus side of the eyeball;

holding, using a holding device, a light source that emits light toward an anterior chamber of an eyeball of a measurement subject person and a photodetecting device that detects the light that has passed through aqueous humor in the anterior chamber so that one of the light source and the photodetecting device placed on an internal canthus side of the eyeball is located on a front side, in a front-rear direction respective to the eyeball, of an other of the light source and the photodetecting device placed on the external canthus side of the eyeball, the holding device having (a) an external canthus side end portion that comes into contact with the measurement subject person on the external canthus side of the eyeball and (b) an internal canthus side end portion that comes into contact with the measurement subject person on the internal canthus side of the eyeball, the external canthus side end portion deviating rearward from the internal canthus side end portion; and

detecting the light that has passed through the aqueous humor in the anterior chamber.

5. A method for irradiating an eyeball and detecting light coming from the eyeball, comprising:

shining light on an anterior chamber of an eyeball in a state where a line of sight of the eyeball is directed to an external canthus side of the eyeball;

holding, using a holding device, a light source that emits light toward an anterior chamber of an eyeball of a measurement subject person and a photodetecting device that detects the light that has passed through aqueous humor in the anterior chamber so as to traverse the anterior chamber, so that one of the light source and the photodetecting device placed on an internal canthus side of the eyeball is located on a front side, in a front-rear direction respective to the eyeball, of an other of the light source and the photodetecting device placed on the external canthus side of the eyeball, the holding device having (a) an external canthus side end portion that comes into contact with the measurement subject person on the external canthus side of the eyeball and (b) an internal canthus side end portion that comes into contact with the measurement subject person on the internal canthus side of the eyeball, the external canthus side end portion deviating rearward from the internal canthus side end portion; and

detecting the light that exits the eyeball after traversing the anterior chamber.