Patent Description:
In the related art, in surgical operations targeting a fine region, such as neurosurgery, for example, a microscope device for enlarged observation of the operating site is used. The microscope device is made up of a microscope unit supported by an arm unit (support unit) (see Patent Literature <NUM> and <NUM>, for example).

Since the operating site may be an extremely small region, there is demand for the microscope device to be capable of precisely adjusting the position of the microscope unit to observe a position desired by the surgeon. Consequently, as exemplified by the microscope devices described in Patent Literature <NUM> and <NUM>, the support unit that supports the microscope unit in many cases is configured as a balance arm that includes a counter weight (counter balance). By configuring the support unit as a balance arm, the surgeon is able to move the microscope unit with a sensation as though operating the microscope unit in a weightless environment, and the operability for the surgeon can be improved.

Herein, the microscope units in the microscope devices described in Patent Literature <NUM> and <NUM> are optical, and the surgeon observes the operating site by directly peering into an eyepiece provided on the microscope unit. Hereinafter, a microscope device provided with an optical microscope unit will also be called an optical microscope device for the sake of convenience.

Meanwhile, in recent years, there are being developed microscope devices provided with an electronic imaging microscope unit equipped with an image sensor and capable of imaging the operating site electronically. With a microscope device provided with an electronic imaging microscope unit (hereinafter also called an electronic imaging microscope device for the sake of convenience), a picture of the operating site imaged by the microscope unit is displayed on a display device installed in the operating room, and the surgeon performs surgery while observing the picture of the operating site depicted on the display device.

With such an electronic imaging microscope device, to increase patient safety further, it is desirable to prepare a substitute means of observation to enable the continuation of surgery even in cases in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally on the display device for some reason. As the substitute means of observation, it is conceivable to prepare a separate optical microscope device in addition to the electronic imaging microscope device, for example.

However, making available a substitute microscope device leads to increased costs. Also, since it is necessary to make preparations for the substitute microscope device in addition to the electronic imaging microscope device to use in the first place, the amount of work increases, and the burden on the medical staff becomes greater. Furthermore, since it is necessary to secure space to the install the substitute microscope device, the inside of the operating room becomes crowded.

Accordingly, the present disclosure proposes a new and improved surgical microscope device and surgical microscope system enabling observation of the operating site to be continued more easily in the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally. <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT> ; <CIT> and <CIT> each describe a prior art device.

The invention is defined by the appended Claims.

According to the present disclosure as described above, in the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally, it becomes possible to continue observation of the operating site more easily.

In this specification and the appended drawings, structural elements that have substantially the same function and structure are denoted with the same reference numerals, and repeated explanation of these structural elements is omitted.

Hereinafter, the description will proceed in the following order.

Note that in the following, the user who performs various operations on a microscope device according to the respective embodiments of the present disclosure is designated the surgeon for the sake of convenience. However, this designation does not limit the user who uses the microscope device, and the various operations on the microscope device may also be executed by any user, such as another member of the medical staff.

With reference to <FIG>, a configuration of a microscope system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described, and in addition, an overall configuration of a microscope device constituting such a microscope system will be described. <FIG> is a diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a microscope system according to a first embodiment.

Referring to <FIG>, a microscope system <NUM> according to the first embodiment is made up of a microscope device <NUM> which supports a microscope unit <NUM> and which images an operating site of a patient with the microscope unit <NUM>, and a display device <NUM> that displays a picture of the operating site imaged by the microscope device <NUM>. During a surgery, the surgeon observes the operating site and performs various treatments on the operating site while referring to the picture imaged by the microscope device <NUM> and displayed on the display device <NUM>.

As described above, the display device <NUM> displays a picture of an operating site of a patient imaged by the microscope device <NUM>. The display device <NUM> is installed in a location visible to the surgeon, such as on a wall of the operating room, for example. The type of the display device <NUM> is not particularly limited, and any of various known types of display devices may be used as the display device <NUM>, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display device, or an electroluminescence (EL) display device. Additionally, the display device <NUM> is not necessarily required to be installed inside the operating room, and may also be installed in a device used by being worn on the surgeon's body, such as a head-mounted display (HMD) or an eyeglasses-type wearable device.

The microscope device <NUM> is provided with a microscope unit <NUM> for performing enlarged observation of an operating site of a patient, a support unit <NUM> (arm unit <NUM>) that holds the microscope unit <NUM>, a base unit <NUM> to which one end of the support unit <NUM> is connected and which supports the microscope unit <NUM> and the support unit <NUM>, and a control device <NUM> that controls the operation of the microscope device <NUM>. The microscope device <NUM> is a surgical microscope device for performing enlarged observation of an operating site of a patient during surgery.

The base unit <NUM> supports the microscope unit <NUM> and the support unit <NUM>. The base unit <NUM> includes a platform <NUM> having a planar shape, and multiple casters <NUM> provided on the bottom face of the platform <NUM>. One end of the support unit <NUM> is connected to the top face of the platform <NUM>, while the microscope unit <NUM> is connected to the other end of the support unit <NUM> extending from the platform <NUM> (the front end). Also, the microscope device <NUM> is in contact with the floor through the casters <NUM>, and is configured to be movable across the floor by the casters <NUM>.

In addition, the platform <NUM> may be provided with a storage unit <NUM> for storing an auxiliary observation device <NUM> described later. In the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally, the surgeon is able to retrieve the auxiliary observation device <NUM> from the storage unit <NUM>, appropriately attach the auxiliary observation device <NUM> to the microscope unit <NUM> or the support unit <NUM>, use the auxiliary observation device <NUM> to observe the operating site, and continue surgery. Note that the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is described in further detail in (<NUM>-<NUM>. Configuration of auxiliary observation device) below.

Note that in the following description, the vertical direction with respect to the floor on which the microscope device <NUM> is installed is defined to be the z-axis direction. The z-axis direction is also called the up-and-down direction or the vertical direction. Additionally, the two mutually orthogonal directions to the z-axis direction are defined to be the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction. The direction parallel to the x-y plane is also called the horizontal direction.

The microscope unit <NUM> is made up of a microscope body for performing enlarged observation of an operating site of a patient. In the illustrated example, the optical axis direction of the microscope unit <NUM> is approximately aligned with the z-axis direction. The microscope unit <NUM> has a configuration corresponding to an electronic imaging microscope, and is made up of a barrel unit <NUM> having an approximately hollow round cylindrical shape, and an imaging unit <NUM> provided inside the barrel unit <NUM>. Additionally, the imaging unit <NUM> is made up of an optical system such as an objective lens and a zoom lens, and an image sensor that captures an image of a subject (namely, the operating site) with light passing through the optical system.

The aperture on the bottom end of the barrel unit <NUM> is provided with a cover glass for protecting the imaging unit <NUM>. A light source is also provided inside the barrel unit <NUM>, and during imaging, the subject is irradiated with illuminating light radiating from the light source through the cover glass. Of this illuminating light, the light reflecting back from the subject is incident on the imaging unit <NUM> via the cover glass, and as a result, a signal corresponding to an image of the operating site (picture signal) is acquired by the imaging unit <NUM>.

For the microscope unit <NUM>, it is sufficient to apply a configuration corresponding to any of various known types of electronic imaging microscope units, and for this reason a detailed description thereof will be reduced or omitted herein. For example, any of various known types of image sensors may be applied as the image sensor of the imaging unit <NUM>, such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor. Additionally, the imaging unit <NUM> may also be configured as a stereo camera equipped with a pair of image sensors. Also, any of various known types of configurations may be applied to the optical system of the imaging unit <NUM>. Furthermore, any of various types of functions typically provided in electronic imaging microscope units, such as an autofocus (AF) function and an optical zoom function, may be provided in the imaging unit <NUM>.

The picture signal acquired by the microscope unit <NUM> is transmitted to the control device <NUM>. In the control device <NUM>, various types of image processing are performed, such as gamma correction and white balance adjustment, for example. In addition, in the control device <NUM>, image processing such as enlargement and pixel interpolation related to an electronic zoom function may also be performed. The picture signal that has been subjected to image processing is transmitted to the display device <NUM> provided in the operating room, and a picture of the surgical site is displayed on the display device <NUM>, appropriately magnified at a desired magnification by an optical zoom function and/or an electronic zoom function, for example. Note that the communication between the control device <NUM> and the display device <NUM> may be realized by any of various known wired or wireless methods.

Note that a processing circuit for performing the above image processing may be provided in the microscope unit <NUM>, and the above image processing may be performed by the processing circuit of the microscope unit <NUM>, without being performed by the control device <NUM>. In this case, image information after suitable image processing has been performed in the processing circuit provided in the microscope unit <NUM> may be transmitted from the microscope unit <NUM> to the display device <NUM> provided in the operating room. Also, in this case, the communication between the microscope unit <NUM> and the display device <NUM> may be realized by any of various known wired or wireless methods.

The microscope unit <NUM> is provided with various types of switches for controlling the operation of the microscope unit <NUM>. For example, the microscope unit <NUM> is provided with a zoom switch <NUM> (zoom SW <NUM>) and a focus switch <NUM> (focus SW <NUM>) for adjusting the imaging parameters of the microscope unit <NUM>, as well as an operating mode toggle switch <NUM> (operation mode toggle SW <NUM>) for toggling the operating mode of the support unit <NUM>. Note that <FIG> illustrates the zoom SW <NUM> and the focus SW <NUM> arranged on the outer side face of the barrel unit <NUM> for the sake of convenience, but in the first embodiment, these switches may also be provided on the outer side face of an approximately hollow round cylindrical housing constituting a first rotation axis unit <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG> and the like described later.

The surgeon, by operating the zoom SW <NUM> and the focus SW <NUM>, is able to adjust the magnification and the focal length of the microscope unit <NUM>, respectively. Also, by operating the operating mode toggle SW <NUM>, the surgeon is able to toggle the operating mode of the support unit <NUM> between a locked mode and a free mode.

Herein, the locked mode is an operating mode in which the position and the attitude of the microscope unit <NUM> are locked by using a brake to restrain rotation about each rotation axis provided in the support unit <NUM>. The free mode is an operating mode in which the brake is released, thereby allowing free rotation about each rotation axis provided in the support unit <NUM>, and enabling the surgeon to adjust the position and the attitude of the microscope unit <NUM> with direct operations. Herein, direct operations mean operations in which the surgeon grips the microscope unit <NUM> with his or her hand, for example, and directly moves the microscope unit <NUM>. For example, the operating mode of the support unit <NUM> becomes the free mode while the surgeon is pressing the operating mode toggle SW <NUM>, and the operating mode of the support unit <NUM> becomes the locked mode while the surgeon releases his or her hand from the operating mode toggle SW <NUM>.

Note that these switches are not necessarily required to be provided on the microscope unit <NUM>. In the first embodiment, it is sufficient for the microscope device <NUM> to be provided with a mechanism for accepting operating input having functions similar to these switches, and the specific configuration of such a mechanism is not limited. For example, these switches may also be provided on another section of the microscope device <NUM>. As another example, an input device such as a remote control may be used, and commands corresponding to these switches may be input into the microscope device <NUM> remotely.

Also, although the barrel unit <NUM> of the microscope unit <NUM> is illustrated as a simple hollow round cylindrical member in <FIG> for the sake of simplicity, in actuality, the barrel unit <NUM> may also be shaped innovatively to be gripped more easily by the surgeon. For example, when in the free mode, operations of moving the microscope unit <NUM> with the surgeon gripping the barrel unit <NUM> directly in hand may be anticipated. At this point, since the surgeon performs an operation of moving the microscope unit <NUM> while pressing the operating mode toggle SW <NUM>, the shape of the barrel unit <NUM> and the placement of the operating mode toggle SW <NUM> may be decided appropriately with consideration for operability by the surgeon while in the free mode. In addition, the placement of the zoom SW <NUM> and the focus SW <NUM> may be decided appropriately with similar consideration for operability by the surgeon.

The control device <NUM> is made up of a processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a digital signal processor (DSP), for example, or a control board on which these processors are mounted together with components such as memory. By executing computational processing according to a certain program, the control device <NUM> controls the operation of the microscope device <NUM>.

For example, the control device <NUM> includes a function of toggling the operating mode of the support unit <NUM> described above by controlling the driving of the brake provided in each joint unit of the support unit <NUM> in response to operating input performed by the surgeon via the above operating mode toggle SW <NUM>. As another example, the control device <NUM> includes a function of appropriately driving the optical system in the imaging unit <NUM> of the microscope unit <NUM> to adjust the magnification and the focal length of the microscope unit <NUM> in response to operating input performed by the surgeon via the above zoom SW <NUM> and focus SW <NUM>. In addition, the control device <NUM> includes a function of performing various types of image processing on a picture signal imaged by the microscope unit <NUM>, and transmitting the processed picture signal to the display device <NUM> provided in the operating room.

Note that in the illustrated example, the control device <NUM> is provided as a different configuration from the microscope unit <NUM>, the support unit <NUM>, and the base unit <NUM>, and is connected to the base unit <NUM> by a cable. However, the first embodiment is not limited to such an example. For example, a processor, a control board, or the like that realizes functions similar to the control device <NUM> may also be disposed inside the base unit <NUM>. Additionally, by incorporating a processor, a control board, or the like that realizes functions similar to the control device <NUM> into the microscope unit <NUM> internally, the control device <NUM> and the microscope unit <NUM> may be configured in an integrated manner.

The support unit <NUM> holds the microscope unit <NUM>, and moves the microscope unit <NUM> three-dimensionally while also locking the position and the attitude of the microscope unit <NUM> after moving. In the first embodiment, the support unit <NUM> is configured as a balance arm having six degrees of freedom. However, the first embodiment is not limited to such an example, and the support unit <NUM> may also be configured to have a different number of degrees of freedom. By configuring the support unit <NUM> as a balance arm and taking a configuration having an equilibrium of moments for the microscope unit <NUM> and the support unit <NUM> as a whole, it becomes possible to move the microscope unit <NUM> with less external force, and operability for the surgeon can be improved further.

The support unit <NUM> is provided with six rotation axes corresponding to the six degrees of freedom (first axis O<NUM>, second axis O<NUM>, third axis O<NUM>, fourth axis O<NUM>, fifth axis O<NUM>, and sixth axis O<NUM>). In the following description, for the sake of convenience, the members constituting each rotation axis will be referred to collectively as the rotation axis unit. For example, the rotation axis unit may be made up of components such as a bearing, a shaft rotatably inserted into the bearing, and a brake that restrains rotation about the rotation axis. The parallelogram link mechanism <NUM> described later may also be considered to be one of the rotation axis units.

The support unit <NUM> is made up of a first rotation axis unit <NUM>, a second rotation axis unit <NUM>, a third rotation axis unit <NUM>, a fourth rotation axis unit <NUM>, a fifth rotation axis unit <NUM>, and a sixth rotation axis unit <NUM> corresponding to each rotation axis, a first arm unit <NUM>, a second arm unit <NUM>, a third arm unit <NUM>, and a fourth arm unit <NUM> rotatably connected to each other by the first rotation axis unit <NUM> to the sixth rotation axis unit <NUM>, and a counterweight <NUM> for maintaining the equilibrium of moments for the microscope unit <NUM> and the support unit <NUM> as a whole. Note that the fourth rotation axis unit <NUM> corresponds to the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM>.

Note that in the following description, when describing the configuration of the support unit <NUM>, the side on which the microscope unit <NUM> is provided may also be called the front end side or the front end unit, while the side near the base unit <NUM> may also be called the base end side or the base end unit.

The first rotation axis unit <NUM> has an approximately hollow round cylindrical shape, and is connected to the base end unit of the barrel unit <NUM> of the microscope unit <NUM> so that the central axis is approximately aligned with the central axis of the barrel unit <NUM> of the microscope unit <NUM>. The first rotation axis unit <NUM> rotatably supports the microscope unit <NUM>, with the rotation axis direction (first axis O<NUM> direction) being a direction approximately aligned with the optical axis of the microscope unit <NUM>. In the example illustrated in <FIG>, the first axis O<NUM> is provided as a rotation axis approximately parallel to the z-axis. By having the microscope unit <NUM> rotate about the first axis O<NUM> by the first rotation axis unit <NUM>, the direction of images captured by the microscope unit <NUM> is adjusted.

Note that in the illustrated example, part of the imaging unit <NUM> of the microscope unit <NUM> is stored inside the hollow round cylindrical housing constituting the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. In other words, the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> are configured as an integrated member. However, the first embodiment is not limited to such an example, and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> and the microscope unit <NUM> may also be configured as mutually individual members.

The front end of the first arm unit <NUM> extending in a direction approximately perpendicular to the first axis O<NUM> is connected to the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. Also, at the base end of the first arm unit <NUM>, there is provided the second rotation axis unit <NUM> that rotatably supports the first arm unit <NUM>, with the rotation axis direction (second axis O<NUM> direction) being a direction approximately parallel to the extension direction of the first arm unit <NUM>. The second axis O<NUM> is a rotation axis approximately perpendicular to the first axis O<NUM>, and in the example illustrated in <FIG>, is provided as a rotation axis approximately parallel to the y-axis. By having the microscope unit <NUM> and the first arm unit <NUM> rotate about the second axis O<NUM> as a rotation axis by the second rotation axis unit <NUM>, the position in the x-axis direction of the microscope unit <NUM> is adjusted.

The front end of the second arm unit <NUM> extending in a direction approximately perpendicular to both the first axis O<NUM> and the second axis O<NUM> is connected to the second rotation axis unit <NUM>. Also, the base end side of the second arm unit <NUM> is bent in an L-shape, and at the position corresponding to the bent short side, there is provided the third rotation axis unit <NUM> that rotatably supports the second arm unit <NUM>, with the rotation axis direction (third axis O<NUM> direction) being a direction approximately parallel to the extension direction of the part corresponding to the long side of the second arm unit <NUM>. The third axis O<NUM> is a rotation axis approximately perpendicular to the first axis O<NUM> and the second axis O<NUM>, and in the example illustrated in <FIG>, is provided as a rotation axis approximately parallel to the x-axis. By having the microscope unit <NUM>, the first arm unit <NUM>, and the second arm unit <NUM> rotate about the third axis O<NUM> as a rotation axis by the third rotation axis unit <NUM>, the position in the y-axis direction of the microscope unit <NUM> is adjusted.

In this way, the support unit <NUM> is configured so that as a result of rotation about the second axis O<NUM> and the third axis O<NUM> being controlled respectively, the attitude of the microscope unit <NUM> is controlled. In other words, the second rotation axis unit <NUM> and the third rotation axis unit <NUM> may be the rotation axis units that prescribe the attitude of the microscope unit <NUM>.

The front end of the top side of the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM> is connected to the base end side of the third rotation axis unit <NUM>. The parallelogram link mechanism <NUM> is made up of four arms (arms <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>) arranged in a parallelogram shape, and four joint units (joint units <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>) respectively provided at positions corresponding to the approximate vertices of the parallelogram.

The front end of the arm <NUM> extending in a direction approximately parallel to the third axis O<NUM> is connected to the third rotation axis unit <NUM>. The joint unit <NUM> is provided near the front end of the arm <NUM>, while the joint unit <NUM> is provided near the base end of the arm <NUM>. The front ends of the arms <NUM> and <NUM> are connected to the joint units <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, allowing rotation about respective rotation axes (fourth axis O<NUM>) approximately perpendicular to the extension direction of the arm <NUM> and approximately parallel to each other. Furthermore, the joint units <NUM> and <NUM> are provided on the base ends of the arms <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively. The front end and the base end of the arm <NUM> are connected to these joint units <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, allowing rotation about the fourth axis O<NUM>, and also approximately parallel to the arm <NUM>.

In this way, the four joint units constituting the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM> include rotation axes (fourth axis O<NUM>) approximately parallel to each other and approximately in the same direction, which operate in conjunction with each other about the fourth axis O<NUM>. In the example illustrated in <FIG>, the fourth axis O<NUM> is provided as a rotation axis approximately parallel to the y-axis. In other words, the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM> includes multiple joint units that rotate in conjunction with each other around rotation axes disposed in mutually different positions but in the same direction, and fulfills the role of a transmission mechanism that transmits an operation on one end to the other end. By providing the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM>, the motion of the configuration on the front end side past the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM> (that is, the microscope unit <NUM>, the first rotation axis unit <NUM>, the second rotation axis unit <NUM>, the third rotation axis unit <NUM>, the first arm unit <NUM>, and the second arm unit <NUM>) is transmitted to the base end side of the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM>.

On a part of the arm <NUM> separated a certain distance from the base end, there is provided the fifth rotation axis unit <NUM> that rotatably supports the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM>, with the rotation axis direction (fifth axis O<NUM> direction) being a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the arm <NUM>. The fifth axis O<NUM> is a rotation axis approximately parallel to the fourth axis O<NUM>, and in the example illustrated in <FIG>, is provided as a rotation axis approximately parallel to the y-axis. The front end of the third arm unit <NUM> running in the z-axis direction is connected to the fifth rotation axis unit <NUM>, and the microscope unit <NUM>, the first arm unit <NUM>, the second arm unit <NUM>, and the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM> are allowed to rotate with respect to the third arm unit <NUM> via the fifth rotation axis unit <NUM>, about the fifth axis O<NUM> as the rotation axis.

The third arm unit <NUM> is approximately L-shaped, with the base end side bent to be approximately parallel to the floor. The sixth rotation axis unit <NUM> that allows the third arm unit <NUM> to rotate about a rotation axis (sixth axis O<NUM>) orthogonal to the fifth axis O<NUM> is connected to the face approximately parallel to the floor on the third arm unit <NUM>. In the example illustrated in <FIG>, the sixth axis O<NUM> is provided as a rotation axis approximately parallel to the z-axis.

In the illustrated example, the sixth rotation axis unit <NUM> is integrated with the fourth arm unit <NUM> that extends in the vertical direction. In other words, the front end of the fourth arm unit <NUM> is connected to the face approximately parallel to the floor on the base end of the third arm unit <NUM>. Also, the base end of the fourth arm unit <NUM> is connected to the top face of the platform <NUM> of the base unit <NUM>. With this configuration, the microscope unit <NUM>, the first arm unit <NUM>, the second arm unit <NUM>, the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM>, and the third arm unit <NUM> rotate with respect to the base unit <NUM> via the sixth rotation axis unit <NUM>, about the sixth axis O<NUM> as the rotation axis.

The arm <NUM> constituting the bottom side of the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM> is formed to be longer than the arm <NUM> constituting the top side, and the end of the arm <NUM> which is positioned diagonally opposite the part where the third rotation axis unit <NUM> is connected on the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM> is extended to the outside of the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM>. On the extended end of the arm <NUM>, the counterweight <NUM> is provided. The mass and the placement of the counterweight <NUM> are adjusted so that the rotation moment produced about the fourth axis O<NUM> and the rotation moment produced about the fifth axis O<NUM> may be canceled out by the mass of the configuration disposed past the front end side of the counterweight <NUM> itself (that is, the microscope unit <NUM>, the first rotation axis unit <NUM>, the second rotation axis unit <NUM>, the third rotation axis unit <NUM>, the first arm unit <NUM>, the second arm unit <NUM>, and the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM>).

In addition, the placement of the fifth rotation axis unit <NUM> is adjusted so that the center of gravity of the configuration disposed farther on the front end side than the fifth rotation axis unit <NUM> is positioned on the fifth axis O<NUM>. Furthermore, the placement of the sixth rotation axis unit <NUM> is adjusted so that the center of gravity of the configuration disposed farther on the front end side than the sixth rotation axis unit <NUM> is positioned on the sixth axis O<NUM>.

By configuring the mass and placement of the counterweight <NUM>, the placement of the fifth rotation axis unit <NUM>, and the placement of the sixth rotation axis unit <NUM> in this way, the support unit <NUM> may be configured as a balance arm that maintains the equilibrium of moments for the microscope unit <NUM> and the support unit <NUM> as a whole. By configuring the support unit <NUM> as a balance arm, in the case in which the surgeon attempts to move the microscope unit <NUM> with a direct operation, the surgeon becomes able to move the microscope unit <NUM> with less external force, almost like a weightless state. Consequently, user operability can be improved.

Each of the first rotation axis unit <NUM> to the sixth rotation axis unit <NUM> of the support unit <NUM> is provided with a brake that restrains rotation in the first rotation axis unit <NUM> to the sixth rotation axis unit <NUM>, respectively. Note that for the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM>, since the four joint units (joint units <NUM> to <NUM>) rotate in conjunction with each other, it is sufficient to provide the brake for the parallelogram link mechanism <NUM> on at least one of these four joint units. The driving of these brakes is controlled by the control device <NUM>. By releasing these brakes all at once under control from the control device <NUM>, the operating mode of the support unit <NUM> switches to the free mode. Also, by similarly driving these brakes all at once under control from the control device <NUM>, the operating mode of the support unit <NUM> switches to the locked mode.

Note that for the brakes provided in the first rotation axis unit <NUM> to the sixth rotation axis unit <NUM>, any of various types of brakes used in a typical balance arm may be applied, and the specific mechanism is not limited. For example, these brakes may be mechanically driven, or may also be electrically driven electromagnetic brakes.

As described above, in the microscope system <NUM>, a picture of the operating site imaged by the microscope unit <NUM> is displayed on the display device <NUM>. However, during an emergency such as a power failure, for example, or in a case in which a malfunction occurs in one of the devices constituting the microscope system <NUM>, a situation is anticipated in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally on the display device <NUM>.

In the microscope system <NUM>, to further increase patient safety, it is desirable to be able to continue surgery, even in cases in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally for some reason. Note that conceivable reasons why the picture of the operating site is no longer display normally include a malfunction in the image sensor of the microscope unit <NUM>, a malfunction in the display device <NUM>, and/or a malfunction in the communication between the microscope device <NUM> and the display device <NUM>.

Accordingly, in the present disclosure, as a substitute means of observations in the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer display normally, there is provided an auxiliary observation device that is attachable to the microscope unit <NUM> or the support unit <NUM>. The auxiliary observation device is a loupe, for example, and in the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally, the auxiliary observation device can be attached to the microscope unit <NUM> or the support unit <NUM>, thereby enabling the surgeon to continue surgery while peering directly into the auxiliary observation device.

Note that in the following, the case in which the auxiliary observation device according to each embodiment of the present disclosure is a loupe will be described as an example. However, in the present disclosure, the auxiliary observation device is not limited to a loupe. It is sufficient for the auxiliary observation device to be provided with an optical system enabling enlarged observation of the operating site by having the surgeon peer directly into the device, and the specific configuration may be arbitrary.

A configuration of an auxiliary observation device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to <FIG>. <FIG> is a perspective diagram illustrating a configuration of an auxiliary observation device according to the first embodiment. <FIG> is a diagram illustrating a method of attaching an auxiliary observation device according to the first embodiment to the microscope unit <NUM>. <FIG> is a profile diagram illustrating how an auxiliary observation device according to the first embodiment is attached to the microscope unit <NUM>. Note that <FIG> and <FIG> illustrate an extraction of only the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> from the microscope device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. However, in <FIG> and <FIG>, the configuration of the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> is illustrated in greater detail than <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG>, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the first embodiment is made up of a lens barrel unit <NUM>, an attachment mechanism unit <NUM>, a connecting unit <NUM> that connects the lens barrel unit <NUM> and the attachment mechanism unit <NUM>, and a securing member <NUM> for securing the auxiliary observation device <NUM> to the microscope unit <NUM>.

The lens barrel unit <NUM> is made up of a pair of lens barrels, inside of which is provided an optical system such as lenses for performing enlarged observation of the operating site. The surgeon, by peering into the lens barrel unit <NUM> from an eyepiece provided on the top end, is able to observe the state of the operating site appropriately magnified by the optical system provided inside the lens barrel unit <NUM>. Note that, for the sake of simplicity, the specific configuration is omitted from illustration, but the lens barrel unit <NUM> preferably is provided with an interpupillary adjustment mechanism enabling the distance between the lens barrels to be adjusted in accordance with the interpupillary distance of the surgeon. When using the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, by appropriately adjusting the distance between the lens barrels with the interpupillary adjustment mechanism, the surgeon is able to observe the operating site more clearly.

The connecting unit <NUM> is a rod-shaped member, one end of which is connected to the lens barrel unit <NUM>, while the other end is connected to the attachment mechanism unit <NUM>.

The attachment mechanism unit <NUM> is a mechanism for attaching the auxiliary observation device <NUM> to the microscope unit <NUM>. The attachment mechanism unit <NUM> has a circular arc shape corresponding to the outer circumference of the hollow round cylindrical barrel unit <NUM> of the microscope unit <NUM>. When attaching the auxiliary observation device <NUM> to the microscope unit <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is mounted onto the microscope unit <NUM> so that a partial region along the outer circumference of the barrel unit <NUM> of the microscope unit <NUM> is covered by the circular arc shape of the attachment mechanism unit <NUM>.

The securing member <NUM> is a bolt, for example, and is a member for securing the auxiliary observation device <NUM> to the microscope unit <NUM>. Specifically, an opening is provided in a partial region of the face of the attachment mechanism unit <NUM> that opposes the side wall of the barrel unit <NUM> of the microscope unit <NUM>, and a screw thread is cut into the inner wall of the opening. As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, in the state in which the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is mounted onto the barrel unit <NUM> of the microscope unit <NUM>, by inserting and screwing the securing member <NUM> into the opening of the attachment mechanism unit <NUM> until the tip abuts the side wall of the barrel unit <NUM>, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is secured to the microscope unit <NUM>.

When the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the microscope unit <NUM>, the connection angle of the lens barrel unit <NUM> of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> with respect to the connecting unit <NUM> (that is, the tilt angle with respect to the optical axis of the microscope unit <NUM>), the optical system inside the lens barrel unit <NUM>, and the like are adjusted to allow at least part of the observation range provided by the microscope unit <NUM> to be observed with the lens barrel unit <NUM>.

Specifically, as illustrated in <FIG>, when the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the microscope unit <NUM>, the arrangement angle with respect to the connecting unit <NUM> and the like may be adjusted so that the optical axis of the lens barrel unit <NUM> of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> intersects with the optical axis of the microscope unit <NUM> at a position that roughly corresponds to an observation target <NUM> (that is, the operating site). Additionally, the magnification, focal length, and the like of the optical system provided inside the lens barrel unit <NUM> may be adjusted in consideration of the observation range provided by the microscope unit <NUM>.

Herein, in the first embodiment, the optical system of the lens barrel unit <NUM> may also not be provided with a magnification adjustment function and a focal length adjustment function, and the magnification and the focal length may be fixed. By configuring the lens barrel unit <NUM> in this way, the configuration of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> can be simplified. However, the imaging unit <NUM> of the microscope unit <NUM> may be provided with a magnification adjustment function and a focal length adjustment function. Consequently, in the case in which the magnification and the focal length of the lens barrel unit <NUM> are fixed, it is difficult to configure the optical system of the lens barrel unit <NUM> so that the entire observation range of the microscope unit <NUM> is observable with the lens barrel unit <NUM>. Thus, when actually designing the optical system of the lens barrel unit <NUM>, the optical system may be designed to have an appropriate magnification and focal length enabling the continuation of surgery, for example. In this case, it is not strictly necessary for the entire observation range of the microscope unit <NUM> to be observable with the lens barrel unit <NUM>, and it is sufficient for at least part of the observation range to be observable.

In this way, by configuring the auxiliary observation device <NUM> to enable the observation of at least part of the observation range provided by the microscope unit <NUM>, when the surgeon attaches the auxiliary observation device <NUM> and peers into the lens barrel unit <NUM> in a case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally, the surgeon is able to observe a range corresponding to the range that had been imaged by the microscope unit <NUM> up until that time, and is able to continue surgery smoothly.

Note that in the first embodiment, in the case in which the light source of the microscope unit <NUM> is still functioning normally even through the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally, observation of the observation target <NUM> may be conducted with the auxiliary observation device <NUM> in a state in which the observation target <NUM> is irradiated with illuminating light from the microscope unit <NUM> using the light source. <FIG> illustrates a simulation of an irradiated range <NUM> irradiated by illuminating light.

Herein, the configuration of the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> will be described in greater detail with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>. As described in (<NUM>-<NUM>. Overall configuration of microscope device) above, the microscope unit <NUM> is made up of a barrel unit <NUM> having an approximately hollow round cylindrical shape, and an imaging unit provided inside the barrel unit <NUM>. The first rotation axis unit <NUM> is connected to the base end unit of the barrel unit <NUM> of the microscope unit <NUM>. At this point, part of the imaging unit of the microscope unit <NUM> is stored inside the hollow round cylindrical housing <NUM> constituting the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. In other words, the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> are configured as an integrated member. Note that since the imaging unit is provided inside the microscope unit <NUM> and the housing of the first rotation axis unit <NUM> in this way, in <FIG> and <FIG>, illustration of the imaging unit is omitted to keep the drawings from becoming complicated.

The first rotation axis unit <NUM> rotatably supports the microscope unit <NUM> about the first axis O<NUM>, and in this case, the housing <NUM> constituting the first rotation axis unit <NUM> is configured so that a section of a certain length from the bottom end of (hereinafter designated the rotating unit <NUM>) rotates together with the microscope unit <NUM>, while a section above the rotating unit <NUM> is a section that rotatably supports the microscope unit <NUM> and the rotating unit <NUM> about the first axis O<NUM> (hereinafter designated the fixed unit <NUM>). The first arm unit <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> (not illustrated in <FIG>) is connected to the fixed unit <NUM> of the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. Also, part of the imaging unit of the microscope unit <NUM> may be stored inside the rotating unit <NUM> of the first rotation axis unit <NUM>.

As described above, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the first embodiment is attached to the barrel unit <NUM>, and thus is able to be rotated about the first axis O<NUM> together with the microscope unit <NUM>. Consequently, after attaching the auxiliary observation device <NUM> to the microscope unit <NUM>, by rotating the microscope unit <NUM> and the auxiliary observation device <NUM> about the first axis O<NUM>, the observation range provided by the auxiliary observation device <NUM> can be adjusted easily, making it possible to continue surgery more smoothly.

The above thus describes a configuration of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the first embodiment with reference to <FIG>. As described above, according to the first embodiment, there is provided an auxiliary observation device <NUM> attached to the microscope unit <NUM> in a case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally. In the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally, the surgeon is able to continue surgery using the auxiliary observation device <NUM>. After that, in a case in which the state of the picture of the operating site not being displayed normally is resolved (for example, in a case in which a replacement for a device that has malfunctioned is prepared, or a power failure or the like is resolved), it is sufficient to use the restored microscope system <NUM> to continue surgery. In this way, according to the first embodiment, in a case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally, surgery can be continued as much as possible until the state is resolved, and patient safety during surgery can be improved further.

At this point, as the substitute means of observation in the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally, devices other than the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, such as a head-mounted loupe worn on the surgeon's head, or another optical microscope device, for example, are conceivable. However, in the case of observing the operating site with a head-mounted loupe, to continue observing the operating site from a fixed position, it is necessary to keep constant the relative position of the surgeon's head with respect to operating site. Since the field of view of a loupe is limited, once the position of the head is moved, capturing the operating site in the field of observation again is not easy, and for a surgeon who is not particularly accustomed to using a head-mounted loupe, such a head-mounted loupe is not considered easy to use.

On the other hand, the case of using a substitute optical microscope device lead to increased cost equal to the cost of making available such a substitute microscope device. Also, since it is also necessary to prepare the substitute microscope device before surgery, the workload on the medical staff increases. Furthermore, since it is necessary to secure space to the install the substitute microscope device, the inside of the operating room becomes crowded.

In contrast, according to the first embodiment, as described above, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is provided as a substitute means of observation in the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally. The auxiliary observation device <NUM> can be attached to the microscope unit <NUM> of the microscope device <NUM> with a simple operation, and the surgeon is able to continue observation of the operating site immediately using the auxiliary observation device <NUM>.

At this point, in the case of using the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, once the position of the microscope unit <NUM> has been set, the relative positional relationship of the operating site and the auxiliary observation device <NUM> can be locked, and thus even if the surgeon briefly moves his or her head away from the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, the surgeon is able to observe the operating site again immediately by peering into the auxiliary observation device <NUM>. Consequently, there is no nuisance like that of the head-mounted loupe described above. Also, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> can be made available at low cost compared to a substitute microscope device, and furthermore does not require advance preparation or the like. Additionally, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> may be configured compactly and a smaller space is sufficient as a storage location, and thus a situation in which the inside of the operating room becomes crowded can also be avoided.

In this way, by using the auxiliary observation device <NUM> as a substitute means of observation, it becomes possible to continue the observation of the operating site more easily compared to the case of using a head-mounted loupe or another optical microscope device.

Note that in the related art, there is known an endoscopic device in which, instead of the microscope unit <NUM>, an endoscope is supported by the support unit <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. Likewise with such an endoscopic device, similarly to the microscope device <NUM>, it is desirable to be able to continue surgery even in the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally. However, although dependent on the site targeted for surgery and the surgical technique, in an endoscopic device, in the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally, there is a possibility that surgery can be continued by proceeding to abdominal or cranial surgery, for example. In other words, with an endoscopic device, in the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally, there is a possibility that surgery can be continued without necessarily using the auxiliary observation device <NUM>.

On the other hand, with the microscope device <NUM>, since a substitute means such as abdominal or cranial surgery for an endoscopic device does not exist, in the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally, surgery cannot be continued unless enlarged observation of the operating site is performed by some method. In this way, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is considered to exhibit particularly advantageous effects by being used for a microscope device <NUM> in which abdominal or cranial surgery is presupposed.

Note that the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is kept inside a storage unit <NUM> provided in the microscope device <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>, for example. In this way, by keeping the auxiliary observation device <NUM> close to the surgeon, in the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally, the surgeon is able to retrieve and attach the auxiliary observation device <NUM> to the microscope unit <NUM> immediately. However, the storage location of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is not limited to such an example, and the auxiliary observation device <NUM> may also be stored in an arbitrary location that is easily retrievable during an emergency, such as a certain location inside the operating room, for example.

Note that inside the storage unit <NUM>, a manual describing information such as how to attach and how to use the auxiliary observation device <NUM> may also be kept together with the auxiliary observation device <NUM>. Since the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is a device which may be used only during an emergency in the case in which the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally, ordinarily, it is anticipated that the surgeon will not have a firm grasp on how to use the auxiliary observation device <NUM>. In this way, keeping a manual in a location allowing easy reference by the surgeon is considered to be extremely useful to the surgeon.

A second embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described. Note that the second embodiment corresponds to a modification of the attachment position of the auxiliary observation device with respect to the first embodiment described above, and other features (such as the configuration of the microscope system <NUM> and the overall configuration of the microscope device <NUM>, for example) are similar to the first embodiment. Consequently, in the following description of the second embodiment, the features that differ from the first embodiment will be described primarily, whereas detailed description of features that overlap with the first embodiment will be reduced or omitted.

A configuration of an auxiliary observation device according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to <FIG> is a profile diagram illustrating how an auxiliary observation device according to the second embodiment is attached to the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. Note that similarly to <FIG> and <FIG>, <FIG> illustrates an extraction of only the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> from the microscope device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. Since the configuration of the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> is similar to that which is described in the above (<NUM>-<NUM>. Configuration of auxiliary observation device) with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>, detailed description will be reduced or omitted herein. Also, similarly to <FIG>, <FIG> illustrates the observation target <NUM> as well as the irradiated range <NUM> irradiated by illuminating light from the microscope unit <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, an auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the second embodiment is attached to the housing <NUM> constituting the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. More specifically, in the second embodiment, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the rotating unit <NUM> of the housing <NUM> constituting the first rotation axis unit <NUM>.

Note that the configuration of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is mostly similar to the configuration of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the first embodiment. Specifically, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is made up of a lens barrel unit <NUM>, an attachment mechanism unit <NUM>, a connecting unit <NUM> that connects the lens barrel unit <NUM> and the attachment mechanism unit <NUM>, and a securing member <NUM> for securing the auxiliary observation device <NUM> to the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. The configuration and function of the lens barrel unit <NUM>, the attachment mechanism unit <NUM>, the connecting unit <NUM>, and the securing member <NUM> are similar to the configuration and function of these members in the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the first embodiment, and thus detailed description will be reduced or omitted herein. However, the circular arc shape of the attachment mechanism unit <NUM> is formed into a shape corresponding to the outer circumference of the housing <NUM> of the first rotation axis unit <NUM>.

Herein, in the first embodiment, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the barrel unit <NUM> of the microscope unit <NUM>. As described in (<NUM>-<NUM>. Overall configuration of microscope device) above, the barrel unit <NUM> may be a section that is gripped by the surgeon when the surgeon moves the microscope unit <NUM> with a direct operation. Consequently, in the case of attempting to move the microscope unit <NUM> after attaching the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, there is a possibility of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> becoming an impediment to an operation by the surgeon.

On the other hand, according to the second embodiment, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached not to the barrel unit <NUM>, but to the housing <NUM> constituting the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. Consequently, after attaching the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, in a case in which the surgeon attempts to move the microscope unit <NUM> with a direct operation, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> does not become an impediment to the operation by the surgeon, and operability for the surgeon can be improved further.

Additionally, since the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the rotating unit <NUM> of the housing <NUM>, it is possible to rotate the auxiliary observation device <NUM> about the first axis O<NUM> together with the microscope unit <NUM>, similarly to the first embodiment. Consequently, the observation range provided by the auxiliary observation device <NUM> can be adjusted easily by rotating the auxiliary observation device <NUM>.

The above thus describes a configuration of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the second embodiment with reference to <FIG>. According the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, in addition to advantageous effects similar to those of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the first embodiment, the following advantageous effects can be obtained.

Namely, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the housing <NUM> of the first rotation axis unit <NUM>, which is a not a section that is gripped by the surgeon when the surgeon attempts to move the microscope unit <NUM> with a direct operation. Consequently, even in the case in which the auxiliary observation device <NUM> has been attached, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> does not become an impediment to a direct operation, and the surgeon is able to grip the barrel unit <NUM> to move the microscope unit <NUM> like normal. Thus, operability for the surgeon can be improved. In this way, according to the second embodiment, there may be provided an auxiliary observation device <NUM> capable of further improving operability for the surgeon.

A third embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described. Note that the third embodiment corresponds to a modification of the configuration of attachment mechanism unit of the auxiliary observation device and of the attachment position of the auxiliary observation device with respect to the first embodiment described above, and other features (such as the configuration of the microscope system <NUM> and the overall configuration of the microscope device <NUM>, for example) are similar to the first embodiment. Consequently, in the following description of the third embodiment, the features that differ from the first embodiment will be described primarily, whereas detailed description of features that overlap with the first embodiment will be reduced or omitted.

A configuration of an auxiliary observation device according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to <FIG>. <FIG> is a diagram illustrating a method of attaching an auxiliary observation device according to the third embodiment to the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. <FIG> is a perspective diagram illustrating how an auxiliary observation device according to the third embodiment is attached to the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. <FIG> is a profile diagram illustrating how an auxiliary observation device according to the third embodiment is attached to the first rotation axis unit <NUM>.

Note that similarly to <FIG> and <FIG>, <FIG> illustrate an extraction of only the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> from the microscope device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. Since the configuration of the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> is similar to that which is described in the above (<NUM>-<NUM>. Configuration of auxiliary observation device) with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>, detailed description will be reduced or omitted herein. Also, similarly to <FIG>, <FIG> illustrates the observation target <NUM> as well as the irradiated range <NUM> irradiated by illuminating light from the microscope unit <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the third embodiment is made up of a lens barrel unit <NUM>, an attachment mechanism unit <NUM>, a connecting unit <NUM> that connects the lens barrel unit <NUM> and the attachment mechanism unit <NUM>, and a securing member <NUM> for securing the auxiliary observation device <NUM> to the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. The configuration and function of the lens barrel unit <NUM>, the connecting unit <NUM>, and the securing member <NUM> are similar to the configuration and function of these members in the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the first embodiment, and thus detailed description will be reduced or omitted herein. However, a rotation mechanism described later is provided at the site of connection between the connecting unit <NUM> and the attachment mechanism unit <NUM>.

In the third embodiment, the configuration of the attachment mechanism unit <NUM> is different from the first embodiment. The attachment mechanism unit <NUM> is a mechanism for attaching the auxiliary observation device <NUM> to the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. The attachment mechanism unit <NUM> includes a first section with an approximately semicircular shape corresponding to the shape of the top face of the housing <NUM> of the first rotation axis unit <NUM>, and a second section extending a certain length in an approximately vertical direction from the rim of the circular arc shape of the first section.

When the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the first rotation axis unit <NUM>, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is mounted onto the first rotation axis unit <NUM> so that the first section of the attachment mechanism unit <NUM> is placed on the top face of the housing <NUM> of the first rotation axis unit <NUM>, while the second section of the attachment mechanism unit <NUM> covers a region of a certain distance from the top face on the side face of the housing <NUM>. At this point, the upper part of the housing <NUM> is the fixed unit <NUM> that rotatably supports the microscope unit <NUM> and the rotating unit <NUM>. In this way, in the third embodiment, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the fixed unit <NUM> of the first rotation axis unit <NUM>.

Herein, in the first embodiment, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the barrel unit <NUM> of the microscope unit <NUM>. Also, in the second embodiment, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the rotating unit <NUM> of the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, with these configurations, the top end of the lens barrel unit <NUM> or <NUM> of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> or <NUM> (that is, the eyepiece) may be positioned immediately beside the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. Consequently, when the surgeon peers into the lens barrel unit <NUM> or <NUM>, there is a risk of the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> interfering with the surgeon's head, and impairing the user experience for the surgeon.

On the other hand, according to the third embodiment, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the top face of the housing <NUM> of the first rotation axis unit <NUM> (that is, the top face of the fixed unit <NUM>). Consequently, as illustrated in <FIG>, the eyepiece of the lens barrel unit <NUM> of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> may be positioned at a higher position than the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. Thus, when the surgeon peers into the lens barrel unit <NUM>, the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> do not become an impediment to the surgeon, and the user experience for the surgeon can be improved further.

Herein, in the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, a rotation mechanism is provided at the site of connection between the connecting unit <NUM> and the attachment mechanism unit <NUM>, thereby allowing the lens barrel unit <NUM> and the connecting unit <NUM> to rotate with respect to the attachment mechanism unit <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, for example, the rotation mechanism is realized by providing openings that penetrate through the connecting unit <NUM> and the attachment mechanism unit <NUM>, and inserting a connecting member such as a bolt through these openings. In this case, the rotation mechanism may be configured so that the rotation axis of the lens barrel unit <NUM> and the connecting unit <NUM> is approximately coaxial with the rotation axis in the first rotation axis unit <NUM> (first axis O<NUM>). In other words, in the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, the lens barrel unit <NUM> may be configured to be rotatable about the first axis O<NUM>.

As described above, since the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the fixed unit <NUM> of the first rotation axis unit <NUM>, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is unable to rotate together with the microscope unit <NUM> like the auxiliary observation devices <NUM> and <NUM> according to the first and second embodiments. However, by providing a rotation mechanism as above, it becomes possible for the lens barrel unit <NUM> to rotate about the first axis O<NUM> with respect to the attachment mechanism unit <NUM>, or in other words, with respect to the fixed unit <NUM> of the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. Consequently, the observation range provided by the auxiliary observation device <NUM> can be adjusted easily by rotating the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, similarly to the first and second embodiments.

The above thus describes a configuration of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the third embodiment with reference to <FIG>. According the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, in addition to advantageous effects similar to those of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the first embodiment, the following advantageous effects can be obtained.

Namely, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the top face of the housing <NUM> of the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. Consequently, the eyepiece of the lens barrel unit <NUM> of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> becomes arranged at a higher position than the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM>, and when the surgeon peers into the lens barrel unit <NUM>, the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> do not become an impediment to the surgeon. In this way, according to the third embodiment, there may be provided an auxiliary observation device <NUM> capable of further improving the user experience for the surgeon.

A fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described. Note that the fourth embodiment corresponds to providing an angle adjustment mechanism described later on the lens barrel unit <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> of the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> according to the first to third embodiments described above. Other features (such as the configuration of the microscope system <NUM> and the overall configuration of the microscope device <NUM>, for example) are similar to the first to third embodiments. Consequently, in the following description of the fourth embodiment, the features that differ from the first to third embodiments will be described primarily, whereas detailed description of features that overlap with the first to third embodiments will be reduced or omitted.

Note that in the following description of the fourth embodiment, a configuration in which an angle adjustment mechanism is provided on the lens barrel unit <NUM> of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the third embodiment is described as an example. However, the fourth embodiment is not limited to such an example, and an auxiliary observation device according to the fourth embodiment may also be configured by providing an angle adjustment mechanism on the lens barrel unit <NUM> or <NUM> of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> or <NUM> according to the first and second embodiments.

A configuration of an auxiliary observation device according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to <FIG> is a profile diagram illustrating how an auxiliary observation device according to the fourth embodiment is attached to the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. Note that similarly to <FIG>, <FIG> illustrates an extraction of only the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> from the microscope device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. Since the configuration of the microscope unit <NUM> and the first rotation axis unit <NUM> is similar to that which is described in the above (<NUM>-<NUM>. Configuration of auxiliary observation device) with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>, detailed description will be reduced or omitted herein. Also, similarly to <FIG>, <FIG> illustrates the observation target <NUM> as well as the irradiated range <NUM> irradiated by illuminating light from the microscope unit <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the third embodiment is made up of a lens barrel unit <NUM>, an attachment mechanism unit <NUM>, a connecting unit <NUM> that connects the lens barrel unit <NUM> and the attachment mechanism unit <NUM>, and a securing member <NUM> for securing the auxiliary observation device <NUM> to the first rotation axis unit <NUM>. Herein, the configuration and function of the respective component members of the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, namely, the lens barrel unit <NUM>, the attachment mechanism unit <NUM>, the connecting unit <NUM>, and the securing member <NUM> are similar to the configuration and function of these members in the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the third embodiment, and thus detailed description will be reduced or omitted herein.

However, in the fourth embodiment, there is provided, at the site of connection between the lens barrel unit <NUM> and the connecting unit <NUM>, an angle adjustment mechanism enabling adjustment of the connection angle of the lens barrel unit <NUM> with respect to the connecting unit <NUM>, or in other words, the tilt angle with respect to the optical axis of the microscope unit <NUM>. In other words, the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is configured to enable adjustment of the tilt angle of the lens barrel unit <NUM> with respect to the optical axis of the microscope unit <NUM>. With such an angle adjustment mechanism, as illustrated in <FIG>, it becomes possible to adjust the direction of the optical axis of the lens barrel unit <NUM>, or in other words, the direction of observation provided by the lens barrel unit <NUM>.

Herein, when observing the operating site using the microscope unit <NUM> during surgery, it is anticipated that the operating site will be observed from a variety of distances and angles while appropriately modifying factors such as the focal length and the magnification of the microscope unit <NUM>. Consequently, when the picture of the operating site is no longer displayed normally and the auxiliary observation device <NUM> is attached to the microscope unit <NUM>, the distance between the microscope unit <NUM> and the operating site is not necessarily always going to be the same.

<FIG> illustrates how, by the angle adjustment mechanism, the direction of the optical axis of the lens barrel unit <NUM> is adjusted to point towards the observation target <NUM> in accordance with the distance between the microscope unit <NUM> and the observation target <NUM>. In this way, by appropriately adjusting the direction of the optical axis of the lens barrel unit <NUM> in accordance with the distance between the microscope unit <NUM> and the observation target <NUM>, it becomes possible to observe a clearer picture of the observation target <NUM> with the lens barrel unit <NUM>.

Note that the optical system provided inside the lens barrel unit <NUM> may also be provided with a magnification adjustment function and/or a focal length adjustment function. By providing a magnification adjustment function and/or a focal length adjustment function, in the case of adjusting the angle of the lens barrel unit <NUM>, the magnification and/or the focal length of the lens barrel unit <NUM> can be adjusted appropriately in accordance with the distance between the lens barrel unit <NUM> and the observation target <NUM>, making it possible to observe an even clearer picture of the observation target <NUM>.

The above thus describes a configuration of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the fourth embodiment with reference to <FIG>. According the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, in addition to advantageous effects similar to those of the auxiliary observation device <NUM> according to the third embodiment, the following advantageous effects can be obtained.

In other words, in the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, there is provided an angle adjustment mechanism enabling adjustment of the tilt angle of the lens barrel unit <NUM> with respect to the optical axis of the microscope unit <NUM>. Consequently, with such an angle adjustment mechanism, by appropriately adjusting the direction of the optical axis of the lens barrel unit <NUM> in accordance with the distance between the microscope unit <NUM> and the observation target <NUM>, it becomes possible to observe a clearer picture of the observation target <NUM> with the lens barrel unit <NUM>.

For example, the features described in the first to fourth embodiments above may also be combined with each other where possible. For example, the magnification adjustment function and/or the focal length adjustment function described in the fourth embodiment may also be provided in the optical system of the lens barrel unit <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> or the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> according to the first to third embodiments.

Additionally, the storage location of the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> according to the second to fourth embodiments may also be similar to the first embodiment. In other words, the storage location of the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> is not particularly limited, and the auxiliary observation device <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> may also be stored together with a manual in the dedicated storage unit <NUM> provided in the microscope device <NUM>, or in an arbitrary location that is easily retrievable during an emergency, such as inside the operating room, for example.

Claim 1:
A surgical microscope device (<NUM>), comprising:
a microscope unit (<NUM>) that is configured to image an observation target electronically, and outputs a picture signal, the microscope unit comprising for this purpose an imaging unit (<NUM>) stored inside a first rotation axis unit (<NUM>) and a barrel unit (<NUM>) provided with an objective lens on a bottom end;
a support unit (<NUM>) that supports the microscope unit, and is configured as a balance arm; and
an auxiliary observation device (<NUM>) that is attachable to the microscope unit by a surgeon, and is configured, when attached to the microscope unit, to enable direct optical observation by the surgeon of an observation range provided by the microscope unit, the auxiliary observation device comprising a lens barrel unit (<NUM>), an attachment mechanism unit (<NUM>) for mounting the auxiliary observation device to a top face of a housing (<NUM>) of the first rotation axis unit, a connecting unit (<NUM>) that connects the lens barrel unit and the attachment mechanism unit and a securing member (<NUM>) for securing the auxiliary observation device to the first rotation axis unit (<NUM>), wherein, when the auxiliary observation device (<NUM>)
is attached to the microscope unit (<NUM>), an eyepiece of the lens barrel unit (<NUM>) is positioned at a higher position than the microscope unit (<NUM>) and the first rotation axis unit (<NUM>).