Portable arthroscope with disposable probe
US5411500A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 23, 1992 |
| Grant date | May 2, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 23, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B1/055
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A hand-held portable arthroscope has a housing and a disposable cap removably attached to the distal end of the housing. A probe which includes a fiber optic image guide and a plurality of optical illuminating fibers is mounted on the cap, and is insertable into a body for imaging the internal structure of the body. The illuminating fibers extend through the cap and are connected in light communication with a quartz halogen lamp for illuminating the internal body structure being imaged. To gather light from the illuminated internal structure of a body into which the probe has been inserted, a GRIN rod is attached to the distal end of the image guide. Focussing optics are mounted in the housing in light communication with the image guide. These focussing optics are axially movable within the housing for focussing the image from the image guide. Light which passes through the focussing optics enters a camera head which is also mounted in the housing. The camera head is in turn electrically connected to a video display device for producing an image of the internal structure of the body.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.