Intraocular substance measuring apparatus

Claim 2

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said photoreceiving optical system (30) further comprises spectroscopic means (37) for separating said measuring light being generated from said eyeball (2) into its spectral components, and said photodetector (35) is adapted to detect said measuring light being separated into its spectral components by said spectroscopic means (37).

Claim 3

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, being further provided with an ocular axis fixing optical system (32, 33, 34) comprising an ocular axis fixing light source (32), being different from said light source (14) of said excitation optical system (12), for generating visible light for introducing a light beam from said ocular axis fixing light source (32) into said eyeball (2), in order to fix said ocular axis (3) while holding a constant angle with respect to said optical axis (31) of said photoreceiving optical system (30).

Claim 4

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein a two-dimensional solid-state image pickup device is provided as a monitor for observing the direction of said eyeball (2), for incorporating an output of said photodetector (35) of said photoreceiving optical system (30) while observing the direction of said eyeball (2) with said two-dimensional solid-state image pickup device.

Claim 5

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said photodetector (35) of said photoreceiving optical system (30) is a two-dimensional solid-state image pickup device being used also as a monitor for observing the direction of said eyeball.

Claim 6

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said excitation optical system (12) is arranged in a positional relation forming an angle of about 40 to 90° with said ocular axis (3) in a state of fixing said eyeball (2) to said prescribed measuring position and fixing said ocular axis (3) in said measuring direction.

Claim 7

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said photodetector (35) of said photoreceiving optical system (30) is a solid-state image pickup device having a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements being arranged along a straight line forming a prescribed angle with said optical axis (31) of said photoreceiving optical system (30) in a plane including said optical axes (16, 31) of said excitation optical system (12) and said photoreceiving optical system (30), and said optical device (36) of said photoreceiving optical system (30) associates a position where said plane intersects with said eyeball (2) with positions of said photoelectric conversion elements of said solid-state image pickup device.

Claim 8

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said photodetector (35) of said photoreceiving optical system (30) is a single photoelectric conversion element being arranged on said optical axis (31) of said photoreceiving optical system (30), and said optical device (36) of said photoreceiving optical system (30) is adapted to introduce only light being generated from a point where said optical axis (16) of said excitation optical system (12) intersects with said optical axis (31) of said photoreceiving optical system (30) on said cornea (8) into said photodetector (35).

Claim 9

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein said spectroscopic means (37) is a Fourier transform spectroscope, a filter, or an acousto-optic tunable filter.

Claim 10

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein said photodetector (35) of said photoreceiving optical system (30) is a one- or two-dimensional solid-state image pickup device, said optical device (36) of said photoreceiving optical system (30) is adapted to guide only light being generated from a point where said optical axis (16) of said excitation optical system (12) intersects with said optical axis (31) of said photoreceiving optical system (30) in the vicinity of said cornea (8), and said spectroscopic means (37) is a spectroscope for wavelength-dispersing said light in a photoelectric conversion element arrangement direction of said solid-state image pickup device.

Claim 11

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said excitation light beam being applied from said excitation optical system (12) to said eyeball (2) is a parallel beam along said optical axis of said excitation optical system.

Claim 12

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said excitation optical system (12) is provided with a condensing optical system (18, 22, 24) for condensing said excitation light beam on said cornea (8).

Claim 13

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein a beam splitter (44) is provided on said optical axis (16) of said excitation light beam of said excitation optical system (12), and part of excitation light being fetched by said beam splitter (44) is introduced into a partial photoelectric conversion element (35a) of said photodetector (35) or another photodetector, so that an output of said photodetector (35) receiving said measuring light from said eyeball (2) is corrected with an output of said partial photoelectric conversion element (35a) or said another photodetector.

Claim 14

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said excitation optical system (12) and said photoreceiving optical system (30) are integrally stored in a goggle structure (50) being attachable on a face.

Claim 15

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 14, wherein said goggle structure (50) is further provided with a transmission circuit (52) for outputting information including data being measured by said photoreceiving optical system (30) to an external data processor.

Claim 16

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said measured intraocular substance is sugar, determination is performed with respect to glucose through a Raman scattering peak being present at 420 to 1500 cm -1 or 2850 to 3000 cm -1 , preferably at 420 to 450 cm -1 , 460 to 550 cm -1 , 750 to 800 cm -1 , 850 to 940 cm -1 , 1000 to 1090 cm -1 , 1090 to 1170 cm -1 , 1200 to 1300 cm -1 , 1300 to 1390 cm -1 , 1450 to 1500 cm -1 or 2850 to 3000 cm -1 in a shift wavenumber from an excitation wavelength, determination is performed with respect to inositol through a Raman scattering peak being present at 400 to 1500 cm -1 or 2900 to 3050 cm -1 , preferably at 400 to 500 cm -1 , 700 to 900 cm -1 , 1000 to 1100 cm -1 , 1200 to 1500 cm -1 or 2900 to 3050 cm -1 in a shift wavenumber from said excitation wavelength, determination is performed with respect to fructose through a Raman scattering peak being present at 550 to 1500 cm -1 or 2900 to 3050 cm -1 , preferably at 550 to 620 cm -1 , 650 to 700 cm -1 , 780 to 870 cm -1 , 900 to 980 cm -1 , 1000 to 1150 cm -1 , 1200 to 1300 cm -1 , 1400 to 1480 cm -1 or 2900 to 3050 cm -1 in a shift wavenumber from said excitation wavelength, determination is performed with respect to galactose through a Raman scattering peak being present at 400 to 1500 cm -1 or 2850 to 3050 cm -1 , preferably at 450 to 550 cm -1 , 630 to 900 cm -1 , 1000 to 1180 cm -1 , 1200 to 1290 cm -1 , 1300 to 1380 cm -1 , 1400 to 1500 cm -1 or 2850 to 3050 cm -1 in a shift wavenumber from said excitation wavelength, or determination is performed with respect to sorbitol through a Raman scattering peak being present at 380 to 1500 cm -1 or 2700 to 2960 cm -1 , preferably at 388 to 488 cm -1 , 749 to 862 cm -1 , 933 to 1120 cm -1 , 1380 to 1464 cm -1 or 2731 to 2960 cm -1 in a shift wavenumber from said excitation wavelength.

Claim 17

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said measured intraocular substance is lipid, and determination is performed with respect to lecithin through a spectral intensity of a fluorescence spectrum of 450 to 650 nm or an integrated value of a spectrum of a proper wavelength range within the range.

Claim 18

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said measured intraocular substance is bilirubin, and determination is performed through a Raman scattering peak being present at 500 to 540 cm -1 , 670 to 710 cm -1 , 900 to 980 cm -1 , 1220 to 1300 cm -1 , 1310 to 1330 cm -1 , 1400 to 1500 cm -1 or 1550 to 1670 cm -1 in a shift wavenumber from an excitation wavelength.

Claim 19

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said measured intraocular substance is glycated protein, and determination is performed with respect to glycated albumin through a spectral intensity of a fluorescence spectrum of 640 or 850 nm or an integrated value of a spectrum of a proper wavelength range within the range.

Claim 20

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said measured intraocular substance is a glycated protein end product AGE.

Claim 21

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said measured intraocular substance is glycated crystallin.

Claim 22

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said measured intraocular substances are at least two types of substances being included in a group consisting of sugar, lipid, bilirubin and glycated protein, and peak intensities or peak areas of Raman scattered light of shift wavenumbers selected for these substances, spectral intensities of fluorescence, or integrated values of proper wavelength ranges are employed, so that measured values of respective substances are obtained from a plurality of these measured values by multivariate regression analysis.

Claim 23

The intraocular substance measuring apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said measured intraocular substance is a fluorescent substance being injected from the exterior.