Abstract:
A method and device to illuminate medical sites using light emitting diodes (LED) and bendable mechanical arms (goosenecks) to carry the arrays of LED&#39;s. The device is battery powered.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention relates to interventional medicine and surgery. Specifically, the invention provides a method and an illumination device to illuminate areas of interest during surgery, minimally invasive surgery or medical interventions. The device is battery powered and comprises at least one flexible goose neck arm and at least one laser diode light source.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     For diagnostic examination, interventional and surgical procedures physicians and nurses need light. Various light sources have been introduced, which can be permanently fixed to walls, ceilings or floors or are movable with and without wheels. Those lamps generally use light bulbs or arc discharge light sources.  
         [0003]     The disadvantage of a lot of light systems is, that they shine from far away onto the medical site of interest. When the physician is working under those light conditions shadow of the physician might darken the site. Because conventional lamps are rather large in size and bulky, the light has to be illuminated from far away or guided by glass fiber. Jesurun has disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,985 a medical light system, which guides light from a metal halide lamp to the surgical sight. However, the glass fiber construction is rather costly.  
         [0004]     The aim of this invention is to disclose an inexpensive to produce medical light system, which illuminates the medical site shadow less and can be used for all medical modalities.  
         [0005]     Krenzel RE36,883 has disclosed a holder for a flash light. This invention provides an elongated flexible gooseneck design that is capable of being formed into a plurality of differing shapes so that it can be supported at a variety of locations and has retaining means for retaining it in a desired shape so that a holder connected to one end thereof can hold a flashlight at any desired position relative thereto. In one embodiment of the invention Krenzel uses a flexible gooseneck of company Lockwood. Also Cedarberg III has disclosed a design D392,758, which is mend to be a flash light holder. In combination with a light emitting diode (LED) flashlight of for instance of Parker U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,912 a new flexible LED based gooseneck lamp could be designed. However, such a lamp design would be desolate and does not comprise a stable device stand and robust device design to sustain the often harsh and rough clinical routines. Such a device would be vulnerable to being damaged upon flexing of the gooseneck.  
         [0006]     Altman U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,004 disclosed a dual flashlight assembly, which could be combined with LED light sources to give better illumination of the areas of interest during medical procedure. However, because a design such as this would have to be temporarily mounted on any type of stand it would also be desolate and not procedure dedicated. There is a need for a multiple medical light assembly, which is either mounted directly to the room (ceiling, wall, floor) or has it&#39;s own stable stand.  
         [0007]     At present the problem with existing surgical flood lights is, that they are mounted behind the physician or behind the head of the physician and the shadow of the physician can hinder the work.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention provides an illumination device to closely generate light out of small light emitting diodes (LED&#39;s) next to the patients area of interest. The light source (LED&#39;s) are mounted on totally flexible and hand movable arms, also known as goose necks. In opposite to surgical flood lights, the invented illumination device brings the light source with the help of at least one gooseneck to the front side of the physician close to the to be illuminated medical site. Hence, no shadow will hinder the work of the physician. In order to avoid trapping over cables, the illumination device is battery powered. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  illustrates various LED arrangements. °  0101   FIG. 2  illustrates an example of a gooseneck.  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  illustrates various illumination device arrangements.  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  illustrates a battery powered stand alone illumination device.  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  illustrates the stand of the illumination device of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0013]      FIG. 6  illustrates the battery pack detail of the illumination device of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 7  illustrates an electrical circuit board of the illumination device of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 8  illustrates the current regulator circuit for the LED&#39;s of illumination device of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0016]      FIG. 9  illustrates a power load circuit for batteries of illumination device of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 10  illustrates one position of the illumination device relative to the patient.  
         [0018]      FIG. 11  illustrates an illumination device, which can be attached to a some other device. 
     
    
     NUMBERS  
       [0000]    
       
         
           
               1  Light Emitting Diode (LED)  
               2  LED  
               3  LED  
               4  diode array plate with one LED  
               5  diode array plate with symmetrical arranged LEDs  
               6  diode array plate with arbitrary arranged LEDs  
               7  gooseneck element or gooseneck segment  
               8  distal gooseneck element onto or in which the diode array plate is mounted.  
               9  proximal gooseneck element or goose neck socket  
               10  gooseneck  
               11  ball end of the gooseneck element  
               12  socket end of the gooseneck element  
               13  room  
               14  ceiling  
               15  wall  
               16  floor  
               17  gooseneck  
               18  ceiling mounting socket for a single gooseneck  
               19  LED array  
               20  ceiling socket for multiple goosenecks  
               21  first gooseneck  
               22  second gooseneck  
               23  third gooseneck  
               24  first LED array  
               25  second LED array  
               26  third LED array  
               27  wall mounting socket for gooseneck  
               28  main gooseneck  
               29  T type or Y type branch fitting  
               30  gooseneck branch  
               31  LED array of gooseneck branch  
               32  LED array of main gooseneck  
               33  floor mounting socket  
               34  post  
               35  gooseneck  
               36  LED array  
               37  movable battery powered medical gooseneck lamp  
               38  wheels of  37   
               39  post  37   
               40  gooseneck  
               41  LED array  
               42  battery pack  
               100  illumination device  
               101  stand  
               102  five-foot-stand (tripod) with wheels  
               103  wheels  
               104  base of stand  101  with battery box or also called base tube  
               105  tube bend at the top  
               106  y connector to gooseneck elements  107   
               107  gooseneck  
               108  LED array  
               109  connector between base of stand  104  and tube of stand  105   
               110  electrical switch  
               111  closure of base  104   
               112  floor  
               113  upper height  
               114  bending angle of tube  105   
               115  bended section of tube  105   
               116  distal end of tube  105   
               117  battery pack  
               118  Screw  
               119  circuit board for power source  
               120  electrical jack for charging transformer  
               121  electrical plug  
               122  chargeable batteries  
               123  current regulator for LED array  129   
               124  current regulator for LED array  128   
               125  power load circuit or recharge circuit  
               126  transformer or switching power supply  
               127  plug for AC  
               128  LED array  
               129  LED array  
               130  switch  
               131  LED array or single LED  
               132  voltage measurement point  
               133  transistor  
               134  Zener diode  
               135  resistor  
               136  resistor  
               137  battery pack  
               138  measurement point  
               139  input measurement point  
               140  to be recharged batteries  
               141  transistor  
               142  output measurement point  
               143  diode  
               144  diode  
               145  resistor  
               146  Zener diode  
               147  resistor  
               148  input measurement point  
               149  diode  
               150  resistor  
               152  output measurement point  
               153  illumination device  
               154  gooseneck  
               155  light source  
               156  electric box  
               157  adapter  
               158  physician  
               159  patient  
               160  illumination device  
           
         
       
     
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0121]     1. General Description  
         [0122]     In  FIG. 1   a  is shown a light emitting diode (LED)  1  in form of the electric symbol. The diode is mounted on the diode array  4 . Other configurations of such LED arrays are shown in  FIG. 1   b , where the diodes  2  are mounted in a symmetrical way on the array plate  5 , and  FIG. 1   c , where the diodes  3  are mounted in an arbitrary arrangement on the array plate  6 . Sometimes such LED arrays are also called LED cluster, LED assemblies or LED panels.  
         [0123]     Goosenecks are flexible arms which can be bend in various directions and shapes. Due to the relative tight friction between the gooseneck elements the shape or bending of the gooseneck will not change.  FIG. 2   a  shows a gooseneck element  7  with ball  11  and socket  12 .  
         [0124]     A gooseneck as described and used here is an assembly of a plurality of similar elements, whereas each one element fits relatively tight with it&#39;s front part into the back part of a second element, to give an overall elongated arm design. Although the elements fit relatively tight into each other, they can still be moved or bend against each other by hand operation to give a rigid but flexible structure to be shaped in different direction. A gooseneck comprises more than one and less than 100, more typically between 10 and 30 elements.  
         [0125]     In  FIG. 2   b  is shown an example of a gooseneck  10 . The elements  7  (or segments  7 ) of the gooseneck  10  are made out of plastic or metal. Plastic as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyvinylechloride (PVC), Teflon, PEEK or others can be used. Metals like stainless steel, titanium, aluminium, brass or any metal-alloys can be used. Good plastic goosenecks out of PVC are available from company Lockwood Products, Inc., 5615 SW Willow Lane, Lake Oswego, Oreg. 97035, USA. See also the corresponding patents of Mark B. Lockwood U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,206 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,155, or see the patent of Gregory G. Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,204. The advantage of plastic elements  7  are that they are washable and acid or base resistant. One could also use the above mentioned design of Cedarberg III D392,758 as one part of the illumination device here.  
         [0126]     On or in the distal gooseneck element  8  is mounted the LED array. The gooseneck comprises a socket  9  on the proximal end, with which it is mounted somewhere.  
         [0127]      FIG. 3  shows various types of illumination devices as they might be used for medical applications. A, B, C and D are illumination devices which are fixed in the room. A is a ceiling  14  mounted device with an LED array  19 , gooseneck  17  and ceiling mounting socket  18 . This device A will be like all others moved by hand to bring it in the right position.  
         [0128]     Device B is an illumination device which is also mounted to the ceiling  14  of the room  13  with a ceiling mounting socket  20 . In this device B three different goosenecks  21 ,  22  and  23  are holding three different LED arrays  24 ,  25  and  26 . The difference in the goosenecks are length, diameter, material or colour. The difference in LED arrays are number of LEDs per array, diode light output of the LEDs, emitting angle, colour of the LED light and arrangement of the LEDs on the array plate.  
         [0129]     Illumination device C is a wall  15  mounted device with wall mounting socket  27 , main gooseneck  28  with main LED array  32  and an additional gooseneck branch  30  with LED array  31 . The branch  30  branches off the main gooseneck with a T- or Y-type branch fitting.  
         [0130]     Illumination device D is a floor  16  mounted device, at which two identical goosenecks  35  with identical LED arrays  36  are mounted on a post  34 .  
         [0131]     Example  37  shows a movable type of illumination device on wheels  38 . The gooseneck  40  with LED array  41  is mounted on a post  39 . The whole device is powered from a battery in a battery box  42 .  
         [0132]     It would be obvious for someone skilled in the art to find any other combination of goosenecks and LED arrays. Those devices could also be mounted on medical equipment such as radiological X-ray, ultrasound or MRI machines, surgical tables, chairs etc. Company Lookwood provides various parts to find different arrangements. The various parts in the Lookwood Products Inc. catalogue of September 200 (form no. 99083) are herewith incorporated by reference.  
         [0133]     2. Stand Alone Battery Powered Illumination Device  
         [0134]      FIG. 4  shows an stand alone illumination device  100  comprising a stand  101 , which is mounted on a base  104  having a five-leg-base (tripod)  102  with wheels  103 . In the base  104  are the batteries and some electrical circuits. The stand  101  is made in it&#39;s upper part from a tube  105  which bends at its top. A y connector  106  at the top end of the tube  105  connects to two identical gooseneck arms  107 , those carrying the LED arrays  108  at their end.  
         [0135]     The height for the illumination device from the floor  112  to the upper height  113  varies from 500 to 2,500 millimetres, typically the height is 1,700 millimetres. In one embodiment of the invention this height is adjustable. The bending angle  114  of the tube  105  varies from 0° to 180° and is typically 90°. The thickness of the tube  105  varies between 10 and 50 millimetres and is typically about 30 millimetres. The wall thickness of tube  105  varies between 0.5 and 5.0 millimetres and is typically 2 millimetres. The base  104  is a tube, with diameter varying between 20 and 60 millimetres, typically 50 millimetres. The wall thickness of base tube  104  varies between 0.5 and 5.0 millimetres and is typically 2 millimetres. The arm length of the bended section of tube  105  varies in length between 100 and 1,000 millimetres and is typically 400 millimetres long. The distal end  116  can be cut straight or cut in an angle as shown in  FIG. 5 . The tubes  104  and  105  as well as the connector  109  are made from aluminium. These could also be made from stainless steel, steel, brace, wood, or any type of plastic. These parts can be specially surface treated by oxidation or painting.  
         [0136]     In  FIG. 5 a  tripod is used. It would be obvious for someone skilled in the art to use any other number of legs for the foot of the device. There could be 4, 5 or more wheel-legs. The foot does not even have to have wheels. The wheels comprise breaks to prevent the device from freely rolling. There might be more or less than 2 goose arms  107 . The goose arms  107  might be different in length and diameter. The material for the tripod  102  or wheels  103  is aluminium, steel, stainless steel, brace, plastic or wood.  
         [0137]     In this device of  FIG. 5 a  switch  110  is mounted at the distal part  116  of the tube  105 , switching the device on and off. There could also be a dimmer, not shown here.  
         [0138]     In  FIG. 6  it is shows that is the base tube  104  is the located the battery pack  117 . The battery pack  117  consists of four D sized batteries, connected in series and connected to the power circuit board  119  by an electrical plug  121 . It would be obvious for someone skilled in the art to use different size type batteries here. The battery pack  117  can be removed by opening the shutter  111 . In this case the shutter  111  is a round metallic plate with a thread to be screwed into the base tube  104 . Tube  105  and  104  are connected with the connector  109  by screws  118 . Electrical jack  120  connects the device to a charging transformer if needed. In usual operation the device is left alone and powers the LED&#39;s from the batteries  117 .  
         [0139]      FIG. 7  is the basic electrical block circuit diagram of the circuitry of the device. Current regulators  123  and  124  supply the LED arrays  128  and  129  with constant DC current from batteries  122 . Batteries  122  in this case are rechargeable by power load circuit  125 , which gets its power from switching power transformer  125  of external power supply  127 . Typically the input voltage for the transformer  126  is from 90 to 230 volts and 50 to 60 hertz (Hz) frequency. The typical output voltage of the transformer is 9 volts. The LED  128  and  129  are switched on or off with switch  130  ( 110  in  FIG. 5 ). Batteries  122  are typically NiMH (Nickel-metal-hydrate) rechargeable batteries of 4.8 to 5.6 volts and 7 ampere-hours. It would be obvious for someone skilled in the art to use different types of batteries. NiMH batteries show no memory effect.  
         [0140]     Current regulators  123  and  124  are shown in detail in  FIG. 8 . Light emitting diodes  131  would be typically a white NSPW500BS of company NICHIA, see www.eska-technik.com with luminous intensity of 11 candela and emitting angle of ±10°, or a LUXEON Star/0 LXHL-NW98, see for instance www.globalspec.com. The NiMH battery pack  137  gives typically 4.8 to 5.6 volts at 7 ampere-hours at measurement point  138 . Typically transistor  133  is a BD132 type, Zener diode  134  is a 1.5 volt type, resistor  135  is a 3.6 ohms at 0.5 watt type, and resistor  136  is a 390 ohms at 0.1 watts type. At measurement point  132  a constant current of 230 milliamps with 3.5 volts can be measured. It would be easy for someone skilled in the art to use different types of LED&#39;S and design appropriate current regulating circuits for these.  
         [0141]      FIG. 9  illustrates two possible power load circuits to recharge the batteries. In  FIG. 9   a  is shown a current regulator circuit charging batteries  140  of 4.8 to 5.6 volts. At input measurement point  139  9 volts and at output measurement point  142  a constant current of 350 milliamps are measured. Typically transistor  141  is a BD 132, resistor  145  is a 2.4 ohms at 0.5 watt and resistor  147  is a 390 ohm at 0.1 watt, diode  143  and  144  are 1N4001 and Zener diode  146  is a 1.5 volts type. Circuit as shown in  FIG. 9   b  is easier and only recharges the batteries in the amount as they unload over time and will transform the 9 volts at input  148  to a constant current of 350 milliamps at output  151  for batteries  140 . Typically diode  149  is of 1N4001 and resistor  150  of 9.1 ohms at 2 watts type. The circuit in  FIG. 9   b  does not use an “intelligent” design because for this circuit the defined current is not critical.  
         [0142]      FIG. 10  shows how the patient  159  would be positioned between the physician  158  or nurse and the illumination device  160 . The tube  105  would reach over the patient and the physician could bend the goosenecks by hand to such a shape that the LED arrays would illume the site of interest optimal.  
         [0143]     It would be obvious for someone skilled in the art to build such a stand alone battery powered illumination device with any other number of goose arms, such as one, three, four, five, etc.  
         [0144]     3. Adaptable Battery Powered Illumination Device  
         [0145]      FIG. 11  shows an illumination device  153  comprising a goose neck  154 , a LED light source  155  of the kind described elsewhere in here, an electric box  156 , in which the electric circuitry and battery pack in located, and an adapter  157  to adapt the illumination device  153  to any other device. With this adapter  157  the illumination device  153  can be adapted to a patient bed, a patient table, a patient chair, an operational table, an interventional table, a dentist patient chair, a gynaecological patient chair, a neurological stereotactic frame or the like.