AN APPARATUS CONFIGURATED TO AND A PROCESS TO PHOTOACOUSTICALL IMAGE AND MEASURE A STRUCTURE AT THE HUMAN EYE FUNDUS

• US 20160374564A9
• Filed: 05/07/2014
• Published: 12/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Legaline AG
• Original Assignee: OphthaMetrics AG
• Inventors: DREHER, Andreas W.
• Granted Patent: US 11,076,760 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0425 Ergonomically shaped housings A61B2560/0418 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/028 Microscale sensors, e.g. electromechanical sensors [MEMS]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2576/02 specially adapted for a particular organ or body part
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0008 provided with illuminating means A61B3/117 takes precedence; goniolenses used for laser treatment A61F9/009; illuminating means for optical instruments G02B27/00
• 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 3/10 Objective types, i.e. instruments for examining the eyes independent of the patients' perceptions or reactions
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/12 for looking at the eye fundus, e.g. ophthalmoscopes A61B3/13 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0036 including treatment, e.g., using an implantable medical device, ablating, ventilating
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/004 adapted for image acquisition of a particular organ or body part A61B5/0082 takes precedence; arrangements for optical scanning A61B5/0062
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0095 by applying light and detecting acoustic waves, i.e. photoacoustic measurements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14542 for measuring blood gases A61B5/14551 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14546 for measuring analytes not otherwise provided for, e.g. ions, cytochromes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4887 Locating particular structures in or on the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6821 Eye
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7289 Retrospective gating, i.e. associating measured signals or images with a physiological event after the actual measurement or image acquisition, e.g. by simultaneously recording an additional physiological signal during the measurement or image acquisition

Abstract

An apparatus configured to photoacoustically image and measure a structure at the human eye fundus or components, substances, cells, tissue, or analytes within the eye and within the blood vessels of the eye including an emitter element for emitting electro-magnetic radiation, a transition element for delivering the electro-magnetic radiation into an eye, a detection element for detecting an acoustic wave and converting the acoustic wave into a digital wave signal, an analysis element for processing the digital wave signal into an image or measurement or both, and a display element for displaying a representation of the image and/or the measurement. The apparatus additionally includes a coupling member, the coupling member being configured and arranged to acoustically couple the eye to the detection element such that the acoustic wave generated within the eye can be guided onto the detection element.

Claims

1. An apparatus configured to photoacoustically image and measure a structure at the human eye fundus, comprising:

an emitter element configured to emit electro-magnetic radiation;

a transition element configured to deliver the electro-magnetic radiation into an eye;

a detection element configured to detect an acoustic wave and convert the acoustic wave into a digital wave signal;

an analysis element configured to process the digital wave signal into at least one of an image and a measurement;

a display element configured to display a representation of at least one of the image and the measurement; and

a coupling member configured and arranged to acoustically couple the eye to the detection element such that the acoustic wave generated within the eye is capable of being guided onto the detection element.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emitter element comprises one or more light sources configured to emit electro-magnetic radiation, as beams of different wavelengths, and a beam combiner configured to combine the beams of different wavelengths into one illumination beam.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coupling member comprises an eyelid contact piece capable of being removed from a coupling member body.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transition element is configured to guide the illumination beam into the eye.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transition element is configured to guide the illumination beam into the eye, and the emitter element is configured to modulate the intensity of the illumination beam to project at least one of target information, text information and image information onto the retina of the eye.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transition element comprises a microelectromechanical mirror scanner.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coupling member is a tubular structure made of an acoustically conducting material which is configured to touch at least one of the upper and lower eye lids of a patient'"'"'s eye while the eye is open.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection element is mounted to or within the coupling member.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection element comprises one or a plurality of acoustic sensors.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the analysis element comprises a processor configured to extract a measurement from the digitized acoustic wave signal.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the analysis element is located at a physical location different from the physical location of the other elements of the apparatus.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display element is located at a physical location different from the physical location of the other elements of the apparatus.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measurement comprises at least one of a wave amplitude, time delay, phase shift or a frequency component of the detected acoustic wave, and the measurement is capable of being used to create data output of the analysis element.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emitter element is configured such that a wavelength can be chosen from a wavelength range where absorption by hemoglobin in the blood is substantially at a peak.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emitter element is configured such that a combination of a multitude of wavelengths can be chosen from a wavelength range where absorption by glucose in the blood produces a characteristic acoustic wave.

16. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a handheld device.

17. The apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the analysis element is configured such that the data output is transmitted to a therapeutic device.

36. A process to photoacoustically image and measure structures at the human eye fundus, carried out with an apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

emitting electro-magnetic radiation;

delivering the electro-magnetic radiation into an eye;

detecting an acoustic wave and converting the acoustic wave into a digital wave signal;

processing the digital wave signal into at least one of an image and a measurement;

displaying a representation of at least one of the image and the measurement; and

acoustically coupling the eye to a detection element such that the acoustic wave generated within the eye is guided onto the detection element.

37. The process of claim 36, wherein the emitting comprises the emission of one or more electro-magnetic radiation beams.

18. An apparatus configured to photoacoustically image and measure a structure at the human eye fundus, comprising:

an emitter element configured to emit electro-magnetic radiation;

a transition element configured to deliver the electro-magnetic radiation into an eye;

a detection element configured to detect an acoustic wave and converting the acoustic wave into a digital wave signal;

an analysis element configured to process the digital wave signal into at least one of an image or a measurement; and

a display element configured to display a representation of at least one of the image and the measurement, the transition element being configured to guide the illumination beam into the eye, and the emitter element being configured to modulate the intensity of the illumination beam to project at least one of target information, text information, and image information onto the retina of the eye.

19-35. -35. (canceled)

38-48. -48. (canceled)