Compact surgical illumination system capable of dynamically adjusting

Abstract

The present invention provides a compact surgical headlamp capable of dynamic adjustment of the resulting field of illumination, comprising at least a single core fiber optic delivery light guide, an adjustable light projection system, and a mounting mechanism for movably supporting the headlamp proximate to the surgeon's eyes. A receiving block is also provided for supporting the structure of the projection system and for coupling the delivery fiber thereto. The projection system comprises a cylindrical housing mount adapted with a centrally disposed cylindrical cavity for receiving the ferruled, output end of the delivery fiber and for allowing the light output therefrom to initially diverge within the cavity of the housing mount. An outside surface of the housing mount is threaded for screwable reception of a correspondingly threaded, cylindrical lens housing, with a field lens disposed at a distal end of the lens housing such that the lens is movable back and forth along the optical axis of the delivery fiber by screwing the lens housing on and off of the housing mount. The enclosed cavity collects the more divergent light rays and redirects them toward the output endface of the lens so as to produce a concentrated light beam which defines a smaller solid angle of divergence. As a result, a brighter field of illumination is achieved through movement of the lens towards the protracted position where the illuminated field is made smaller. The mounting mechanism comprises a ball and socket joint coupled at one end to a lower corner of the receiving block, and at a second end to a bracket which can easily be attached to an annular head mount for detachable insertion of the head mount into a headband worn by a surgeon.