Stereomicroscope Illumination Device with Double Orifice Aperture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical microscopes used in eye surgery face challenges in maintaining a strong red reflex, especially in complex cases with strong pigmentation, small pupils, or high-grade cataracts, which can make it difficult to detect and remove lens tissue residues due to weak red reflex visibility.
Innovation Solution
An illumination device with a double orifice plate aperture diaphragm and a spherical concave mirror is used, allowing adjustable orifice spacing and diameter, along with a beam splitter and luminous-field diaphragm, to optimize light distribution and reduce unwanted reflections, enabling efficient red reflex generation without a diffusion filter.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a conventional illumination system with a single orifice is used, then the device complexity is low, but the red reflex efficiency is insufficient and total light quantity is too high causing eye damage
Solution Approach 1:
The aperture diaphragm is segmented into multiple orifices (double orifice plate with two orifices or four-orifice plate with four orifices) instead of using a single orifice. This segmentation allows the illumination beam to be divided into multiple paths that can be optimally directed onto the retina, significantly increasing red reflex efficiency while distributing the light load to prevent eye damage.
Solution Approach 2:
Each orifice is positioned at a specific location with optimized spacing from the optical axis, creating localized illumination paths tailored for stereoscopic imaging. The asymmetric positioning of orifices relative to the optical axis enables optimal distribution of illumination across the observation paths, enhancing local illumination quality without requiring a complete system redesign.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the spacing of orifices from the optical axis is fixed, then the device complexity is low, but the adaptability to different observation configurations is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The aperture diaphragm incorporates adjustable orifices that can be repositioned relative to the optical axis, transforming a static illumination system into a dynamic one. This adjustability allows the illumination beam paths to be adapted to match different observation beam path configurations and stereo bases, enabling the system to accommodate various surgical microscope setups and patient conditions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution significantly enhances the efficiency of red reflex illumination, allowing for longer surgical procedures without eye damage by maximizing light usage and minimizing unwanted reflections, while providing adjustable light intensity and field delimitation to improve surgical visibility.
Implementation Method 1
a spherically concave mirror (8) interacting with the light source (10). Thanks to the use of a spherical concave mirror of this kind, the illumination intensity of the light source can be effectively doubled
Implementation Method 2
In order to ensure stereoscopic illumination, the illumination beam path is physically split using a beam splitter, in order to guide the light into the vicinity of the optical axes of the observation beam paths.
Implementation Method 3
it is possible to omit a diffusion filter that is conventionally used, which, by eliminating luminance maxima, enables unsharp imaging onto the retina of the light source being used, since the optics used according to the present invention does not cause sharp imaging of the filament onto the retina.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an illumination device for a stereomicroscope, in particular a surgical microscope for eye surgery, having at least one light source (10), a collector lens system (14), an aperture diaphragm (16), a condenser lens system (18), and an objective (22), illumination light being directed from the light source (10) through the collector lens system (14), the aperture diaphragm (16), the condenser lens system (18), and the objective (22) into the object plane (E19), the aperture diaphragm (16) being provided as a double orifice plate or four-orifice plate.