RU2769491C1 - Adapter for attaching a smartphone to a slit lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: medical technology.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the field of medical technology and is intended for connecting smartphones with a slit ophthalmic lamp. The adapter for attaching a smartphone to a slit lamp consists of a clamping unit for a smartphone consisting of two elements with protrusions moving linearly in the slot of the adapter housing perpendicular to the vertical axis and the optical axis of the tubular part of the adapter housing, and fixed with a screw clamp with a clamping handle and a collet-type annular clamp, made with the possibility of clamping the eyepiece of a slit lamp, and made in the form of a tubular part of the housing with a conical inner surface with wedges sliding in the grooves, driven and fixed by means of a clamping nut, with the connection of a clamping unit for a smartphone and a screw clamp with a clamping handle with an adapter neck with stiffeners.

EFFECT: application of the invention makes it possible to obtain images of eye structures using a smartphone camera while ensuring the alignment of the smartphone camera and the eyepiece of the slit lamp and reliable fixation of the smartphone.

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Description

The invention relates to the field of medical technology and is intended for connecting smartphones with a slit ophthalmic lamp.

The level of technology.

The main working tool of an ophthalmologist is a slit lamp (biomicroscope), it is used for a detailed examination of the anterior and posterior segments of the eye. Based on an objective examination, a diagnosis is made or additional examinations are prescribed. To improve the quality of diagnosis and create an objective picture of the course of the disease and the effectiveness of treatment, photo registration is used using built-in slit lamp or external photo and video cameras. The result of photo registration can be a picture of the fundus (or anterior segment) or a video recording of the examination (relevant for some retinal diseases). (Dubbs SB, Blosser KM, Richardson AC. A smartphone, a slit lamp, and an ophthalmology consult. Clin Case Rep.2019 Aug 20; 7(10):2004-2005. doi: 10.1002/ccr3.2381. PMID: 31624627 ; PMC1D: PMC6787794.) However, despite the obvious advantages of using this technique, it has some significant disadvantages: cameras built into the slit lamp are inferior in image quality to most modern smartphones; updating a biomicroscope to connect an additional camera is not provided by manufacturers, which creates scope for creating third-party developments that solve this problem. The use of a smartphone for photo recording does not imply changes to the design of the slit lamp. And to improve the quality of images, it is necessary to use a special adapter that provides a coaxial connection between the smartphone camera lens and the eyepiece of the slit lamp and avoids deviation from the optical axis and jitter during the shooting process.

Known adapter for mounting a digital camera on a slit lamp (RF patent for utility model No. 104047), consisting of a hollow metal rod, which on the one hand has a thread corresponding to the diameter and pitch of the threaded connection of the serial slit lamp adapter, and on the other hand - elastic suction cup for fixing the adapter to the camera body around the lens.

The disadvantage of this device is the connection is compatible with a limited number of cameras.

Known device company "ion IMAGING)) (https://marco.com/products/anterior-segment-imaging/ion-imaging-system/), consisting of an intra-optical beam splitter / camera adapter and a vertical platform for fixing the smartphone.

The disadvantage of this device is the connection is compatible with a limited number of slit lamps.

The closest analogue of the claimed device is an adapter for mounting a smartphone on a slit lamp (RF patent for utility model RU 182293 U1), consisting of a base and a support lying in the same plane and interconnected with the possibility of angular movement of the support relative to the base at an angle of 0 to 45 degrees.

The disadvantage of this device is the impossibility of ensuring the exact alignment of the slit lamp eyepiece and the smartphone camera lens.

The objective of the invention is to develop a device that connects the camera of a modern smartphone (in this case, smartphones of various models can be used) with the eyepiece of a slit lamp.

To solve this problem, we offer an adapter for mounting a smartphone on a slit lamp, which consists of a clamping unit for a smartphone, consisting of two elements with protrusions, linearly moving in the housing groove perpendicular to the vertical axis and the optical axis of the adapter, and fixed with a screw clamp with an ergonomic clamping handle, and a collet-type ring clamp made in the form of a cylindrical tube with a conical inner surface with wedges sliding in the grooves, driven and fixed by means of a clamping nut, with the clamping units connected by the adapter neck with stiffeners.

The technical result of the claimed invention is to ensure the optical coaxiality of the eyepiece of the slit lamp and the lens of the smartphone camera, which leads to an increase in the convenience of photo-registration of ocular pathology using the built-in camera in the smartphone.

The proposed adapter allows you to set the optical alignment of the slit lamp eyepiece and the smartphone camera lens and securely fix the smartphone, leaving its visual and tactile functionality available.

A feature of the solution is that due to the use of a collet connection, no additional centering of the adapter relative to the eyepiece is required and a guaranteed coaxial connection of the adapter with the eyepiece of a slit lamp of any diameter within the range of allowable diameters is ensured, which simplifies and speeds up the connection of the adapter and the slit lamp after attaching the smartphone.

The essence of the invention.

The clamping unit of the smartphone is located in the lower part of the housing 1 (Fig. 1-5) and consists of elements 4 and 5, sliding in the groove of the housing 1. Rectangular protrusions are located on the elements for clamping the smartphone 12, which allow arbitrary location of the smartphone along the vertical axis of the adapter and are side stops for a smartphone. In combination with the translational movement of elements 4 and 5 in a direction perpendicular to the vertical axis of the adapter, this allows you to place the smartphone camera exactly against the ring clip window at the top of the adapter.

The minimum distance between the protrusions of elements 4 and 5 is 59 mm, the maximum is 78 mm. This range corresponds to the width of modern smartphones. The fixation of the smartphone clamp assembly in the case 1 is carried out using a screw clamp consisting of a bolt 7, washers and nuts (not shown in the drawings), and a clamping handle 6.

In the central part of element 5, as well as on the protrusions of elements 4 and 5, there are anti-slip pads (not shown in the drawings) that prevent slipping of the smartphone 12 in the direction of the vertical axis of the adapter and prevent the appearance of traces of mechanical damage on the contact surfaces of the smartphone.

The ring clamp of the eyepiece is implemented in the form of a collet mechanism consisting of a tubular part of the body 1, on the inner conical surface of which there are grooves with wedges 3 placed in them, and on the outer surface there is a thread and a clamping nut 2 is screwed on. The axis of the tubular part is the optical axis of the adapter . The wedges 3 are capable of translational movement and are held in the slots by a dovetail connection. By rotating the nut 2, the wedges 3 are simultaneously shifted to the optical axis of the adapter, which leads to the clamping of the eyepiece 13 coaxially with the optical axis of the adapter. In addition, in the housing 1, along the optical axis, there is a window opposite which the smartphone camera 12 is placed.

Due to the said implementation of the ring clamp, it is possible to securely attach the adapter to eyepieces with a diameter of 31.91 mm to 41.25 mm.

The device functions as follows. By unwinding handle 6, elements 4 and 5 are released, and smartphone 12 is placed between them. By shifting smartphone 12 between elements 4 and 5, as well as shifting them in housing 1, the smartphone camera is positioned opposite the housing window located along the optical axis of the adapter, after which the position of the smartphone 12 is fixed by tightening the clamping handle 6. The clamping nut 2 is unscrewed, and the wedges 3 are manually shifted in the grooves away from the optical axis. The adapter is put on the eyepiece 13 by the ring clamp hole and the clamping nut 2 is tightened, due to which the wedges 3 are shifted to the optical axis, the adapter is centered along the optical axis of the eyepiece and the adapter is fixed on the eyepiece 13.

The proposed technical solution is illustrated by the following illustrations:

Fig. 1 - Adapter, front view.

Fig. 2 - Adapter, side view.

Fig. 3 - Adapter, rear view

Fig. 4 - Adapter, side view (with a fixed smartphone and a symbolic image of the eyepiece)

Fig. 5 - Adapter, front view (with smartphone attached)

Fig. 6 - Ring clamp assembly, section (with a fixed smartphone and a symbolic image of the eyepiece). The illustration shows the principle of the collet mechanism.

Fig. 7 - for Example 1. A - a photograph of fixing an Apple iPhone 6s smartphone to the eyepiece of a slit lamp, B - an example of a photograph of the anterior segment of the eye using an Apple iPhone 6s smartphone.

Fig. 8 - for Example 2. - photograph of fixing a Samsung Galaxy A6 smartphone to the eyepiece of a slit lamp, B - an example of a photograph of the posterior segment of the eye using a Samsung Galaxy A6 smartphone.

Implementation of the invention.

Application example #1. On FIG. 7(A) is a photograph of fixing an Apple iPhone 6s smartphone to the eyepiece of a slit lamp. On FIG. 7(B) is an example of an anterior segment photograph taken using an Apple iPhone 6s smartphone. Capturing images of eye structures with a smartphone camera demonstrates the confirmation of the claimed technical result - achieving the alignment of the smartphone camera and the eyepiece of the slit lamp, and holding the smartphone in the same position relative to the eyepiece for a long time, which allows photographing the desired eye structure - securely fixing the smartphone.

Application example #2. On FIG. 8 (A) shows a photograph of fixing a Samsung Galaxy A6 smartphone to the eyepiece of a slit lamp. On FIG. 8 (B) shows an example of a photograph of the posterior segment of the eye using a Samsung Galaxy A6 smartphone. The capture of images of the eye structures by the smartphone camera demonstrates the confirmation of the claimed technical result - the achievement of the alignment of the smartphone camera and the eyepiece of the slit lamp, and the long-term holding of the smartphone in the same position relative to the eyepiece, which allows photographing the desired structure of the eye - reliable fixation of the smartphone.

Thus, the use of the proposed invention provides the convenience of photo-registration of ocular pathology using a built-in camera in a smartphone of any model when working on a slit lamp by displaying visual information on the smartphone display. The device allows you to attach a large number of smartphones of various types and brands to the slit lamp and provides a coaxial connection between the eyepiece of the smartphone and the eyepiece of the slit lamp.

Claims (1)

An adapter for mounting a smartphone on a slit lamp, which consists of a clamping unit for a smartphone, consisting of two elements with protrusions that move linearly in the groove of the adapter body perpendicular to the vertical axis and the optical axis of the tubular part of the adapter body, and is fixed using a screw clamp with a clamping handle and collet-type ring clamp, made with the possibility of clamping the eyepiece of a slit lamp, and made in the form of a tubular part of the body with a conical inner surface with wedges sliding in the grooves, driven and fixed by means of a clamping nut, with the connection of the clamp assembly for a smartphone and a screw clamp with clamping handle with ribbed adapter neck.

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