Reflection microscope and method

A method for operating an endothelium reflection microscope, the apparatus comprising an optical head including:

• an illuminating system, for obliquely illuminating, along a side projection axis through a slit, an eyeball surface of a patient's eye;
• an eye-front observation optical system along a central channel in which alignment-use indicator light for positional adjustment of the imaging optical center is projected toward the eye and the resulting reflected light spot is received and imaged by a camera comprising a digital optical sensor;
• and an enlarged-imaging optical system arranged along a side reflection axis for enlarged observation or photographing of the subject part by the digital camera based on slit illuminating light with which the eyeball surface has been illuminated;
• the apparatus further comprising a drive for moving the optical head along three Cartesian directions comprising an advancement direction (Z-) generally parallel to the central channel and transverse alignment directions (X-, Y-), and a CPU controller for automatically controlling the drive, the illuminating systems, and the eye-front optical system;
• the method further including an alignment procedure in which the optical head is moved along the alignment directions (X-, Y-) so that the reflected light spot and the camera optical sensor are mutually centered, and an endothelium image acquisition procedure in which the optical head is moved along the advancement direction (Z-), the image acquisition procedure comprising the steps of:
• (i) constantly checking the grey level inside a check area of the camera sensor, during its progression along the advancement direction (Z-), the check area being displaced generally toward a border of the sensor corresponding to the entry side of reflection of the slit light, shifting in response to movement of the optical head in the advancement direction (Z-);
• (ii) when the grey level reaches a predetermined threshold value, triggering a delay time (Δt);
• and
• (iii) when the delay time (Δt) lapses, enabling acquisition of one or more images of the endothelium by the digital camera.