Fundus observation apparatus

Abstract

A fundus observation apparatus that is capable of assisting an examiner in judging the presence or absence of abnormality in an examinee's eye based on a fundus tomographic image. The fundus observation apparatus includes an optical coherence tomography device that has an optical scanner for setting an image pickup position on a fundus of an examinee's eye, and is arranged to obtain a tomographic image of the fundus, and an information display unit that is arranged to display on a monitor the tomographic image obtained by the optical coherence tomography device and assisting information for assisting an examiner in performing judgment on the tomographic image, and the information display unit is arranged to change the assisting information based on image pickup information on the tomographic image.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A fundus observation apparatus comprising:
 an optical coherence tomography device that has an optical scanner for setting an image pickup position on a fundus of an examinee's eye, and is arranged to obtain a tomographic image of the fundus;   an information display unit that is arranged to display on a monitor the tomographic image obtained by the optical coherence tomography device and assisting information for assisting an examiner in performing judgment on the tomographic image; and   an arithmetic analysis unit that is arranged to detect information on layers of the fundus in the tomographic image through image processing, and determines the tomographic image by determining the detected layer information by a given determination criterion, wherein   the information display unit is arranged to change the assisting information based on image pickup information on the tomographic image;   the arithmetic analysis unit is arranged to change the determination criterion based on at least the image pickup information; and   the information display unit is arranged to display a first determination result obtained by the arithmetic analysis unit as the assisting information on the monitor.   
     
     
       2. The fundus observation apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the arithmetic analysis unit uses a normal eye database as the determination criterion. 
     
     
       3. The fundus observation apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a control unit that is arranged to control driving of the optical scanner to change the image pickup position on the fundus, wherein   the arithmetic analysis unit is arranged to specify an abnormal portion in the tomographic image based on the first determination result or specify a characteristic portion in the tomographic image through the image processing, and   the control unit is arranged to adjust the image pickup position so as to obtain the tomographic image including one of the abnormal portion and the characteristic portion that are specified by the arithmetic analysis unit.   
     
     
       4. The fundus observation apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein
 the control unit is arranged to obtain a first tomographic image of a wide range of the fundus by two-dimensionally scanning measurement light on the fundus using the optical scanner,   the arithmetic analysis unit is arranged to specify one of the abnormal portion and the characteristic portion in the first tomographic image, and   the control unit is arranged to obtain a second tomographic image by scanning the measurement light in a scanning range corresponding to the portion specified by the arithmetic analysis unit.   
     
     
       5. The fundus observation apparatus according to  claim 4 , wherein
 the arithmetic analysis unit is arranged to determine the second tomographic image and obtain a second determination result, and   the information display unit is arranged to display the first and second tomographic images and the first and second determination results that are obtained by the arithmetic analysis unit.   
     
     
       6. The fundus observation apparatus according to  claim 4 , wherein the control unit is arranged to set the scanning range for obtaining the second tomographic image to be a scanning range that is narrower than the scanning range for obtaining the first tomographic image and includes the whole specified portion. 
     
     
       7. The fundus observation apparatus according to  claim 4 , wherein the control unit is arranged to set a scanning pattern of the measurement light according to the specified portion. 
     
     
       8. The fundus observation apparatus according to  claim 4 , wherein the arithmetic analysis unit is arranged to specify a region corresponding to a macula portion in the first tomographic image through the image processing, and perform determination appropriate to the specified region. 
     
     
       9. The fundus observation apparatus according to  claim 4 , wherein the arithmetic analysis unit is arranged to specify a region corresponding to a papilla portion in the first tomographic image through the image processing, and perform determination appropriate to the specified region. 
     
     
       10. The fundus observation apparatus according to  claim 4 , wherein the control unit is arranged to set the scanning range for obtaining the second tomographic image by obtaining a scanning position of the optical scanner corresponding to the specified portion based on a relation between the first tomographic image and a scanning position of the optical scanner. 
     
     
       11. The fundus observation apparatus according to  claim 4 , wherein the control unit is arranged to perform matching between a tomographic image corresponding to the specified portion in the first tomographic image and a tomographic image obtained when obtaining the second tomographic image through the image processing, and correct a scanning position of the optical scanner so as to obtain a topographic image at a substantially matching position. 
     
     
       12. The fundus observation apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a front fundus image pickup device that is arranged to obtain a front image of the fundus, wherein   the arithmetic analysis unit is arranged to detect brightness information on the front image obtained by the front fundus image pickup device through the image processing, and determine the front image by determining the detected brightness information by a given determination criterion.   
     
     
       13. The fundus observation apparatus according to  claim 12 , wherein
 the arithmetic analysis unit is arranged to specify one of a targeted image pickup portion and the abnormal portion based on determination results of the tomographic image and the front image that are obtained by the arithmetic analysis unit through the image processing, and   the control unit is arranged to adjust the image pickup position so as to obtain the tomographic image including the specified portion.   
     
     
       14. A fundus observation apparatus comprising:
 an optical coherence tomography device configured to obtain a tomographic image of a fundus of an examinee's eye associating a macula portion and a papilla portion;   a first non-transitory computer readable medium storing a first program for use with a processor, the first program causing the processor to execute detecting the tomographic image obtained by the optical coherence tomography device through image processing; and   a second non-transitory computer readable medium storing a second program for use with a controller, the second program causing the controller to execute steps comprising:
 performing a scan of the fundus in a scanning range that includes an entirety of the macula portion and an entirety of the papilla portion; 
 detecting a wide range two-dimensional tomographic image including the entirety of the macula portion and the entirety of the papilla portion; 
 performing a first analysis corresponding to the macula portion and a second analysis corresponding to the papilla portion in the wide range two-dimensional tomographic image; 
 displaying a front image of the eye including the macula portion and the papilla portion on a monitor; and 
 superimposing results of the first analysis or the second analysis on the front image.  
   
     
     
       15. The fundus observation apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the first program causes the processor to execute steps further comprising:
 detecting information on layers of the fundus in the tomographic image through image processing; and   determining the macula portion or the papilla portion by analyzing the information on the layers based on a given criterion corresponding to a part of the fundus.    
     
     
       16. Non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums with executable programs stored thereon for use in a fundus observation apparatus for detecting a tomographic image obtained by an optical coherence tomography device through image processing and for displaying a result of an analysis of an examinee's eye, the non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums comprising:
 a first non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a first program for use with a processor, the first program causing the processor to execute detecting the tomographic image obtained by the optical coherence tomography device through image processing; and   a second non-transitory computer readable medium storing a second program for use with a controller, the second program causing the controller to execute steps comprising:
 performing a scan of the fundus in a scanning range that includes an entirety of the macula portion and an entirety of the papilla portion; 
 detecting a wide range two-dimensional tomographic image including the entirety of the macula portion and the entirety of the papilla portion; 
 performing a first analysis corresponding to the macula portion and a second analysis corresponding to the papilla portion in the wide range two-dimensional tomographic image; 
   displaying a front image of the eye including the macula portion and the papilla portion on a monitor; and
 superimposing results of the first analysis or the second analysis on the front image.  
   
     
     
       17. The fundus observation apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the first analysis and the second analysis include comparing the thicknesses of the layers to thicknesses of the layers of the respective portions of normal eyes stored in a database.  
     
     
       18. The fundus observation apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the tomographic image and the front image are moving images captured in real time.