Abstract:
A slit lamp apparatus is suspended from a support structure such that no examination table is required in front of a patient during an examination. Accordingly, a patient&#39;s interaction with the slit lamp apparatus is unobstructed. Individual components of the slit lamp apparatus are optionally movable such that they may be positioned in desired positions relative to a patient&#39;s eye during an examination.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
   Slit lamp systems are commonly used by ophthalmologic and optometric practitioners for performing general eye examinations. The body of a typical slit lamp system includes an illumination component and an observation component. The illumination component emits an adjustable slit-shaped beam of light, or slit light, and background illumination light for illuminating the eye to be examined. The observation component typically includes a biomicroscope for magnifying a portion or cross-sectional image of the eye illuminated by the slit light. Slit lamp systems may also include an imaging apparatus associated with the observation component, such as a camera or a video camera, either of which may optionally be associated with a computer, for converting images viewed through the observation component into tangible visual images to be stored or studied after completion of the examination. 
   In a common configuration, the illumination and observation components are supported on an examination table. The table is typically attached to a stand via an arm that is movable about the stand so that the table may be positioned front of a patient. The table typically supports a headrest, which may include a chin rest and a forehead rest for steadily holding a patient&#39;s head during an examination. 
   To conduct a typical examination, the practitioner maneuvers the examination table in front of the patient, such that the headrest is directly in front of the patient. The patient then leans forward so that his or her chin and forehead come to rest on or against the chin and forehead rests, respectively. This ensures that the patient&#39;s head remains relatively stationary during the examination. Thereafter, the practitioner illuminates the patient&#39;s eye with the illumination component and observes the eye via the observation component. 
   One limitation associated with currently available slit lamp systems is that the examination table supporting the slit lamp system often makes it difficult to appropriately position the patient, which may cause the patient discomfort. For example, when the patient leans forward to place his or her head on the headrest, the table may create a hindrance to the correct positioning of the patient&#39;s head. This may also prevent the practitioner from performing an adequate examination. These problems may occur when, for example, the patient has back pain, is obese, or has large breasts. 
   SUMMARY 
   A slit lamp apparatus is suspended from a support structure such that no examination table is required in front of a patient during an examination. Accordingly, a patient&#39;s interaction with the slit lamp apparatus is unobstructed. Individual components of the slit lamp apparatus are optionally movable such that they may be positioned in desired positions relative to a patient&#39;s eye during an examination. 
   Other features and advantages will appear hereinafter. The features described above can be used separately or together, or in various combinations of one or more of them. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an inverted slit lamp apparatus, according to one embodiment. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Various embodiments of the invention will now be described. The following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding and enabling description of these embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand, however, that the invention may be practiced without many of these details. Additionally, some well-known structures or functions may not be shown or described in detail so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description of the carious embodiments. 
   The terminology used in the description provided below is intended to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the invention. Certain terms may even be emphasized below. However, any terminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such in this detailed description section. 
   Where the context permits, singular or plural terms may also include the plural or singular term, respectively. Moreover unless the word “or” is expressly limited to mean only a single item exclusive from the other items in a list of two or more items, then the use of “or” in such a list is to be interpreted as including (a) any single item in the list, (c) all of the items in the list, or (c) any combination of items in the list. 
   Turning now in detail to the drawing,  FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of an inverted slit lamp apparatus  100  mounted on a support structure, such as a support arm  101 . The support arm  101  may be connected to a stand, a ceiling (or ceiling module), a wall (or wall module), or any other suitable mechanism or mount. For ease of description, only a support arm  101  connected to a stand, which may optionally rest on a floor or other suitable location, will be described herein. 
   A headrest  111  and other components of the slit lamp apparatus  100  are preferably directly or indirectly attached to the support arm  101 . In one embodiment, a top arm  119  of the headrest  111  is connected to the support arm  101 , optionally in a pivotal manner. The headrest  111  includes side arms  118  extending downwardly from the top arm  119 . A chin rest bar  116  for supporting the chin  117  of the patient  135  is preferably attached to or integral with the bottom ends of the two side arms  118 . 
   A forehead rest bar (not shown) may optionally be attached to approximate mid-regions of the support arms  118  for supporting the forehead of the patient  135 . The forehead rest bar, if included, may optionally be vertically adjustable along the side arms  118  so that a space between the chin rest bar and the forehead rest bar may be adjusted to correspond to the distance between the forehead and chin of a given patient. Any suitable head supporting features may additionally or alternatively be provided. In one embodiment, the chin rest bar  116  or the forehead rest bar may be omitted. 
   A first examination arm  103 , which supports an illumination component  104  of the slit lamp apparatus  100 , is preferably pivotally attached to the support arm  101  via a first hinge element or pivot element  102 . The illumination component  104  is preferably a high-intensity light source that can be focused to shine a slit of light toward an eye  130  of a patient  135 . 
   A second examination arm  106 , which supports an observation component  108  of the slit lamp apparatus  100 , is preferably pivotally attached to the support arm  101  via a second hinge element or pivot element  115 . The observation component  108  preferably includes a microscope, such as a biomicroscope, including an eyepiece  109  for visual inspection of the patient&#39;s eye  130 . In an alternative embodiment, the illumination and observation components  104 ,  108  may each be supported at different vertical locations on the same examination arm. 
   Any or all of the support arm  101 , the first examination arm  103 , and the second examination arms  103 ,  106  may optionally be vertically extendible via a telescoping arrangement or other suitable adjustment mechanism. This allows the slit lamp apparatus  100 , or the individual illumination and observation components  104 ,  108 , to be readily adjusted into desired vertical positions relative to a patient&#39;s eye  130 . 
   An imaging apparatus, such as a camera or a video camera, either of which may be associated with a computer, may optionally be electrically connected or otherwise associated with the observation component  108 . Such an imaging apparatus may be used to convert images viewed through the observation component  108  into tangible visual images that may be studied after completion of the examination. 
   In one embodiment, the support arm  101  may be attached to an axis-movement system (not shown), such as a track system, for providing longitudinal and or lateral (i.e., forward and backward or side-to-side) movement of the slit lamp apparatus  100 . In another embodiment, the support arm  101  may be attached to rotation-based movement system (not shown), such as a rotating support plate, for providing rotational movement to the slit lamp apparatus  100 . Any movement system employed may be a manually operable, friction-based system, a motorized system, or any other suitable movement system. 
   To perform an eye examination using the inverted slit lamp apparatus  100 , in one embodiment, a practitioner vertically adjusts the forehead rest bar (if provided) such that it is spaced from the chin rest bar  116  a distance corresponding to a distance between a patient&#39;s chin  117  and forehead. The practitioner then moves the headrest  111  toward the patient  135 , or the patient  135  moves his or her head toward the headrest  111 , so that the patient&#39;s forehead and chin come to rest against or on the forehead rest bar and the chin rest bar  116 , respectively. Alternatively, the practitioner may initially position the chin rest bar  116  under the patient&#39;s chin  117 , and may then vertically adjust the forehead rest bar. Because the slit lamp apparatus  100  is suspended from above the patient, the patient may be seated in a comfortable posture, with no intrusion from an examination table or other potentially intrusive structure, while resting his or her head on the headrest  111 . 
   The practitioner may then move or rotate, as necessary, the illumination and observation components  104 ,  108  into appropriate examination positions relative to the patient&#39;s eye  130 . Next, the practitioner illuminates the patient&#39;s eye  130  with a slit of light generated by the illumination component  104 , while observing the eye  130  through the eyepiece  109  on the observation component  108 . If included, an imaging apparatus associated with the observation component  108  may provide one or more tangible images of the patient&#39;s eye  130  for the practitioner to further examine on a computer or similar device. When the examination is completed, the practitioner may move the slit lamp apparatus  100  away from the patient, or the patient may move back away from the slit lamp apparatus  100 . 
   Any of the above-described embodiments may be used alone or in combination with one another. Furthermore, the slit lamp apparatus may include additional features not described herein. While several embodiments have been shown and described, various changes and substitutions may of course be made, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention, therefore, should not be limited, except by the following claims and their equivalents.