Patent ID: 8789949
Filing Date: 2014-07-29
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A cornea imaging apparatus comprising: a collimation axis holding mechanism including a fixation target that keeps a collimation axis of an eye under examination at a given position; an imaging mechanism containing an illumination optical system with an illumination light source that obliquely illuminates a slit light flux on the eye under examination and a cornea imaging optical system having a photoelectric element that takes images of a corneal endothelium by receiving the slit light flux reflected from a cornea of the eye under examination; a Z-direction actuating means that moves the imaging mechanism in a Z direction which is a direction of getting closer to or away from the eye under examination; an X-direction actuating means and a Y-direction actuating means that move the imaging mechanism in X and Y directions respectively that are perpendicular to the Z direction; an inclination angle changing means that changes an inclination angle of an imaging center axis of the imaging mechanism against the collimation axis of the eye under examination under a state where a position of the collimation axis of the eye under examination fixed and retained by the fixation target; an endothelial configuration computing means that determines a corneal endothelial configuration of the eye under examination; and a normal vector computing means for the endothelium that determines a normal vector direction at a given imaging position of the corneal endothelial configuration determined by the endothelial configuration computing means, wherein at the imaging position, the inclination angle set by the inclination angle changing means and positions in the Z and X directions set by the Z and X direction actuating means, respectively, are set adjusted so as to align the imaging center axis of the imaging mechanism with the normal vector direction determined by the normal vector computing means for the endothelium.