AU5745398A

AU5745398A - Positioning device for positioning a person's head for examining and/or treatingthe eyes

Info

Publication number: AU5745398A
Application number: AU57453/98A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Theo Wolf
Original assignee: Haag Streit AG
Current assignee: Haag Streit AG
Priority date: 1997-03-27
Filing date: 1998-02-09
Publication date: 1998-10-22
Also published as: EP0971619A1; CA2284764A1; JP2001516263A; WO1998043532A1; KR20010005612A

Description

Positioning device for positioning of a human head for eye examination and/or treatment The invention relates to a positioning device as claimed in the preamble of claim 1 and an orbit cover for the positioning device. The object of the invention is to devise a device with which the treating physician can easily perform eye examinations and/or treatments. The object is achieved by devising a positioning device for positioning of the human head with a face stop part and a chin rest part, to the frame elements of which an orbit cover unit with a eye flap can be attached which can be swivelled in against the orbit of the eye which is not to be treated or examined. Direct covering of the eye in the orbit with the eye flap prevents the eye not being examined from wandering back and forth due to light sources and other stimuli. The other eye to be examined can now easily be fixed for example on a mark and also remains fixed thereon. Preferably the eye flap will be made arched to the outside so that its inside, as much as possible, does not come into contact with the eyelashes. If the orbit cover unit is made symmetrical, the same cover can be used for the right and the left eye.

2 In another preferred embodiment the positioning device has a support unit with a support surface for the little finger and/or the ball of the thumb of the treating or examining physician. Manipulations on the eye or guidance of devices used for this purpose or optical observation units generally take place with the thumb and the index and/or middle finger. Support of the ball of the thumb or the little finger steadies the physician's hand, but allows sufficient mobility of the former finger for treatment or examination. In the following, examples of a positioning device as claimed in the invention for positioning of a human head for eye examination and/or treatment and an orbit cover as claimed in the invention are explained using drawings. Figure 1 shows a view of a positioning device in a representation from the patient's location without the orbit cover unit attached; Figure 2 shows an overhead view of a support unit of the positioning unit shown in Figure 1 for one finger of the treating physician; Figure 3 shows an overhead view of an orbit cover unit which can be attached to the side leg of the positioning device shown in Figure 1 and which is shown attached to the left leg of the positioning device shown in Figure 5 (the representation is enlarged compared to that of Figure 5), Figure 4 is a view of the orbit cover unit shown in Figure 3 in the viewing direction IV there and 3 Figure 5 shows a view of one version towards the positioning device shown in Figure 1 in a representation from the patient's location. The positioning device 40 for positioning of a human head for eye examination and/or treatment shown in Figure 1 from the "patient side" has a face stop part and a chin rest part 41 and 43. The face stop part 41 is preferably made as a flexible elastic band. The chin rest part 41 is stably produced from an injection molding or plastic and in its middle has a recess 45 for positioning of the chin of the patient. The face stop part 41 is attached on both sides on its end areas by means of two screws 46 at a time to a rod-shaped frame element part 47 which is bent here preferably in a U-shape. The connecting arc 49 of the frame element part 47 bent in a U-shape runs above the face stop part 41 at a distance such that it comes to rest over the face when the patient's head is in place. The two legs 50a and 50b of the frame element part 47 are made rod-shaped with a circular cross section. The chin rest part 43 is made vertically adjustable. The end area of the chin rest part 43 which is on the left in Figure 1 bears a sleeve 51 which can be moved to the left leg 50a of the frame element 47 in a loose fit. On the end area which is on the right in Figure 1 the chin rest part 43 has a retaining sleeve 53 which is made as a guide sleeve. The height of the retaining sleeve 53 is much larger than that of the moving sleeve 51. In the bottom area of the retaining sleeve 53 a knurled nut 55 can be turned around the lengthwise axis of the right leg 50b of the frame element part 47 and the retaining sleeve 53, but is 4 held axially fixed on the retaining sleeve 53. The right leg 50b on its lower end area has an outside thread 56 on which the knurled nut 55 can turn. By turning the knurled nut 55 it and thus also the chin rest part 43 can be moved up and down for height adjustment on the leg 50b. The free ends 57a and 57b of the legs 50a and 50b of the frame element 47 are inserted into one free end of another U-shaped frame element 59 at a time in a force fit and are each secured with a splint 61a or 61b. The arc 62 of the frame element 59 has fastening elements 63 with which it can be fastened for example to a table 65. On the legs 66a and 66b of the frame element 59 underneath the cotter pins 61a and 61b there are a left and a right handle 67a and 67b for the patient's hands. The axles 69 of the handles 67a and 67b are flush with one another and run horizontally. The patient's holding onto the handles 67a and 67b improves the positioning and steadiness of his head in the positioning device 40. Underneath the fastening of the face stop part 41 to the legs 50a and 50b there is one support unit 71 each. The two support units 71 are made identical. The support unit 71 which is shown in Figure 2 enlarged as a separate part compared to Figure 1 has an opening 72 through which the pertinent leg 50a or 50b fits, as well as support surface 73 for one of the fingers, preferably for the little finger of the treating physician. By resting his finger the physician can steady his hand and work on the patient's eye with high precision. Underneath the fastening of the ends of the face stop part 41 on the legs 50a and 50b an orbit cover unit 24 can be manually 5 slipped on them without using tools, for example, a screwdriver, pliers, ... The orbit cover unit 24 shown in Figures 3 and 4 can be slipped onto the legs 50a and 50b underneath the support unit 71. Figure 5 shows the orbit cover unit 24 in place and also one version of a positioning unit 2 compared to the one shown in Figure 1. The orbit cover unit 24 has an orbit flap 25 which can be swivelled in against the orbit of the eye which is not to be treated or examined. The eye flap 25 is arched to the outside, i.e. away from the eye, when inserted into the orbit. The contour area 27 of the orbit flap 25 which comes to rest adjacent to the nose-face transition of the patient is made semicircular and thus is matched to it. The orbit cover unit 24 has a spacer part 29 on which the orbit flap 25 is held to swivel with a swivel joint 30. The spacer part 29 on its end facing away from the orbit flap 25 has a extension part 31 for connection to the left or right leg 50a or 50b without tools. The extension part 31 has a left and a right jaw 33a and 33b. The jaws are made to be elastically spreadable by a tolerance so that they can be slipped onto the legs 50a and 50b which are made rod-shaped. When in place, the two jaws 33a and 33b fit around the rod jacket by a tolerance which is greater than half the circumference. To achieve the spreading capacity which is necessary for slipping on it would be enough if simply one of the two jaws were made elastic and the other rigid. But preferably the two will be made elastically deformable (spreadable) for reasons of easier manufacture.

6 To keep the orbit cover unit 24 horizontally stationary, but able to swivel on the legs 50a and 50b, they each have a peripheral groove 75 underneath the attachments for the face stop part 41. Fitting this groove 75, the extension part 31 has a crosspiece 35 which runs to the inside of the jaws. The spacer part 29, as is especially apparent from Figure 2, is made arc-shaped. The arc is made such that the spacer part 29 fits around the jawbone of the face when the orbit flap 25 is folded into the orbit. In this way the legs 50a and 50b are set back relative to the face when the head is moved into the positioning device 40. Thus the physician is not hindered by legs 50a and 50b when working on the eye. So that the same orbit cover unit 24 can be used to cover the left and the right eye, it is made mirror-symmetrical to its lengthwise extension. The spacer part 29 however need not, as shown in Figure 3, be a roughly semicircular arc. Formation of the orbit cover unit 24 as shown in Figure 3 however allows the orbit cover unit 25 to be folded into the arc of the spacer part 29, by which in the folded state a compact, aesthetically pleasing appearance results. Since the orbit cover unit 24 can be easily turned, one each can be placed on the two legs 50a and 50b and the one not needed at the time can be turned away to the outside. The swivel joint 30 can be omitted since the orbit cover unit 24 as a result of the special configuration of the extension part 31 can be swivelled around the axis of the legs 50a and 50b. But with the swivel joint 30 there is better covering of the orbit and in the folded-down state a pleasing appearance.

7 The positioning device 2 shown in Figure 5 in a view from the "patient side" as a version of the positioning device 40 likewise has a face stop part 1 and a chin rest part 3. The face stop part 1 is preferably made as a flexible elastic band. The chin rest part 1 is stably produced from an injection molding or plastic and in its middle has a recess 5 for positioning of the chin of the patient. The face stop part 1 is attached on both sides to a rod-shaped frame element part 7 which is bent here for example in a U-shape. The connecting arc 9 of the part 7 bent in a U-shape runs above the face stop part 1 at a distance such that it comes to rest over the face when the patient's head is in place. The chin rest part 3 is located to be vertically adjustable on a plunger 10. The ends of the part 7 are securely inserted in the end areas of a two-pronged fork part 15. The handle 16 of the fork part 15 is attached to a base 17. The base 17 can be a table or a part of a device. On the end of the fork handle on both sides there are handholds 19a and 19b for the patient's hands. The piston 10 is held in the fork handle 16 and can be vertically adjusted via an adjustment unit 20. On the end areas of the two-pronged fork part 15 or in the area of the ends of the legs 22a and 22b of the frame part 7 there is one support unit 21a and 21b each. The support units 21a and 21b are made as arcs of a shell, the arc being made so large that the ball of the thumb of the treating physician can be inserted. By inserting the ball of his thumb the physician can steady his hand and work on the patient with high precision. The 8 support units 21 and 21b are made identical, and therefore can be located both on the right and left on the legs 22a and 22b. Underneath the fastening 23a and 23b of the ends of the face stop part 1 on the legs 22a and 22b an orbit cover unit 24 can likewise be manually slipped onto them without using tools, for example, screwdriver, pliers, ... Instead of the extension part 31 and the legs 22a and 22b or 50a and 50b for horizontal locking with a crosspiece 35 with grooves 34a and 34b, other elements can also be used. If there is no need for swivelling around the jacket of the legs, a blind hole and a nipple which fits it can be provided. The peripheral grooves can be made wider than the height of the jaws of the extension part by a tolerance; then the crosspiece 35 can be abandoned. In addition, the extension part 31 can be entirely omitted and instead two blind holes or through holes can be made in the legs, into which or through which then the two cylindrical elements can be placed on the end of the spacer part.

Claims

1. Positioning device (2, 40) for positioning of the human head for eye examination and/or treatment with a face stop part (1, 41) and a chin rest part (3, 43), characterized by an orbit cover unit (24), which can be attached and removed, preferably without using tools, on elements (22a, 22b, 50a, 50b) of the positioning device (2, 40), with an orbit flap (25) which can be swivelled in against the orbit of the eye which is not to be treated or examined.

2. Positioning device (2, 40) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the orbit flap (25) is made arched to the outside, especially with a contour area (27) which is matched to the nose-face transition, especially to ensure a distance to the eyelashes.

3. Positioning device (2, 40) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the orbit cover unit (24) has a spacer part (29) on which the orbit flap (25) is held, especially to be able to swivel.

4. Positioning device (2, 40) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the orbit cover unit (24) is made mirror symmetrical to be able to be used for both the left and the right eye.

5. Positioning device (2, 40) as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the spacer part (29) on its end facing away from the orbit flap (25) has a extension part (31) for connection to elements of the positioning device (2, 40), especially with its frame elements (22a, 22b, 50a, 50b) which are used to hold the face stop part (1, 41). 10

6. Positioning device (2, 40) as claimed in claim 5, wherein each frame element at least in the area of the connection to the orbit cover unit (24) has rod-shaped parts (22a, 22b, 50a, 50b) and the extension part (31) has two jaws (33a, 33b) for fitting around at least half the periphery of each rod-shaped part (22a, 22b, 50a, 50b) and preferably at least one of the jaws (33a, 33b) is made elastic.

7. Positioning device (2, 40) as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein the extension part (31) has a locking arrangement against shifting along the frame elements (22a, 22b, 50a, 50b) which is preferably made as a groove (34a, 34b; 75) and a crosspiece (35) on the jacket of the frame element and the inside of the jaws for form-fit locking and which however allows swivelling.

8. Positioning device (2, 40), especially as claimed in one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by a support unit (21a, 21b; 71) with a support surface (73) for the little finger and/or the ball of the thumb, which is located especially on the frame elements (22a, 22b, 50a, 50b) of the positioning device (2, 40) for holding the face stop part (1, 41) and is used to steady and/or support the hand of the physician performing treatment and/or examination on the eye.

9. Orbit cover unit (24) for a positioning device (2, 40) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 8, with an orbit flap (25) which is preferably provided with an outside arch, with at least one contour area (27) which is matched to the transition of the orbit in the nose area and the adjacent jaw and eyebrow area except for a tolerance. 11

10. Orbit cover unit (24) as claimed in claim 9, characterized by a spacer part (29) which is connected especially to swivel to the orbit flap (25) and which on its the end opposite the orbit flap (25) has an extension part (31), with which it can be removably attached to the elements (22a, 22b, 50a, 50b) of the positioning device (2, 40) preferably without tools.

11. Orbit cover unit (24) as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein the extension part (31) is made as a catch element with two jaws (33a, 33b), at least one of the jaws (33a, 33b) being elastic, and preferably on the inside of the jaws there being one element (35) for form-fit connection to an opposite element (34a, 34b, 75) which fits it, on elements (22a, 22b, 50a, 50b) of the positioning device (2, 40).