Illumination Assembly For Use With Vaginal Speculum Apparatus

Abstract

An illumination assembly for use with a vaginal speculum includes an assembly housing containing a light source, such as at least one LED or incandescent lamp. The illumination assembly, which can be battery powered or powered by means of a dedicated power supply, such as an AC power supply, is configured to be fitted within a receiving cavity of a handle portion of a vaginal speculum.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is based upon the following two (2) provisional patent applications, claiming priority based on 35 USC § 119(e): U.S. Ser. No. 60 / 667,505, filed Apr. 1, 2005, entitled: ILLUMINATED VAGINAL SPECULUM ASSEMBLY; and U.S. Ser. No. 60 / 735,576, filed Nov. 10, 2005, entitled: ILLUMINATED VAGINAL SPECULUM ASSEMBLY. The entire contents of each of the above-noted applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The application relates to the field of hand-held medical diagnostic instruments and in particular to an illumination assembly that is used in conjunction with a vaginal speculum.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Vaginal specula are commonly known apparatus presently used in the field of diagnostic medicine for purposes of examining the cervix of a female patient. A typical vaginal speculum includes an upper blade member and a lower blade member that are operated upon to open and ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0030]Preferably, the at least one LED is capable of both high output (e.g., 1 watt and a minimum of 20 lumens/watt) and long service life (e.g., at least 1000 hours), enabling efficient and prolonged use of the illumination assembly for medical applications.

[0031]A speculum adapter can attach to the housing, wherein the adapter facilitates the engagement of the housing within the receiving cavity of a vaginal speculum. In a preferred version, the speculum adapter comprises an external envelope equivalent to that of one type of illumination assembly and an internal envelope that is adapted for receiving another type of illumination assembly.

[0032]The housing includes a base portion. According to one version, the illumination asse...

Problems solved by technology

One problem with the herein-described light pipe is that a so-called “hot” spot is developed at the distal light emitting end.

This back reflection produces considerable amounts of glare, thereby impairing the effectiveness of an examination.

In addition, the configuration of the distal end of the current light pipe provides non-uniform light distribution at the target (e.g., the cervix).

Another problem is that the body of the light pipe extends into the lower field of view of the user (e.g., the physician), creating obstruction of the target.

In addition, shadowing of external illumination is caused by the distal light pipe end.

Excessive plastic material results in extra cost of manufacture.

The molding of the lower blade member is further affected in that a stress concentration is created at the distal end of the light pipe, based on its squared discontinuous end, resulting in weak location and potential breakage.

Moreover, there is difficulty in molding due to the abrupt change in cross section near the gate.

Yet another problem is that body fluids expelled from examination are often trapped by the distal end of the light pipe, producing a contamination issue as well as impairing the efficiency o...

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