Laryngoscope with camera attachment

Abstract

The invention relates to medical devices for carrying out internal examination, such as laryngoscopes (1). The laryngoscope is provided with a camera element (7) within a channel (6) inside the blade (3).

Claims

1. A laryngoscope to assist intubation of a patient, comprising: a body portion; a blade portion comprising a spatulate shaped probe, the blade portion having a channel therein, wherein the probe is rigid plastic and wherein the spatulate shaped probe extends beyond the channel; a strengthening element coupled to the body portion and having an elongate member, a majority of the strengthening element located entirely within the channel, and a camera located with the channel and positioned to capture images of a patient's larynx through a transparent portion of the blade portion, the camera isolated from contacting the patient by at least the transparent portion of the blade portion, wherein the transparent portion comprises a lens.

2. The laryngoscope of claim 1, wherein the probe is entirely transparent.

3. The laryngoscope of claim 1, comprising a light source located entirely within the channel.

4. The laryngoscope of claim 1, wherein the blade portion is characterized at least in part by a length and the channel runs along at least part of the length of the blade portion.

5. The laryngoscope of claim 1, comprising a display screen mounted on the body portion.

6. The laryngoscope of claim 1, wherein the elongate member is curved.

7. The laryngoscope of claim 6, wherein the channel is curved to accommodate the elongate member.

8. The laryngoscope of claim 1, wherein the blade portion attaches directly to the body portion.

9. The laryngoscope of claim 8, wherein the strengthening element is fixedly attached to the body portion and wherein the blade portion is removably attached to the strengthening element.

10. A laryngoscope blade configured to be used in conjunction with a laryngoscope handle portion to assist intubation of a patient, comprising: an outer wall forming a channel, the channel terminating in a closed end face, wherein the closed end face is at least partially transparent, wherein a longest dimension across a proximal opening of the channel is approximately equal to a longest dimension across a midpoint of the channel; and a rigid spatulate shaped portion that extends past the closed end face of the channel by a distance that is greater than a width of the channel and wherein the rigid spatulate shaped portion is thicker than the outer wall.

11. The laryngoscope blade of claim 10, comprising a mating feature configured to accommodate a retractable pin or bearing of the laryngoscope handle portion.

12. The laryngoscope blade of claim 10, wherein the channel is curved.

13. The laryngoscope blade of claim 10, wherein the closed end face is adjacent to the spatulate shaped portion.

14. A laryngoscope blade configured to be used in conjunction with a laryngoscope handle portion to assist intubation of a patient, comprising: an outer wall forming a channel, the channel extending from a proximal opening and terminating in a closed end face, wherein the closed end face is at least partially transparent wherein the outer wall comprises an electrical contact configured to couple to the laryngoscope handle portion, the electrical contact being positioned at or near the proximal opening; and a rigid spatulate shaped portion that extends past the closed end face of the channel and terminating at a distal end of the laryngoscope blade, wherein the spatulate shaped portion is elongated in a proximal-distal direction past the closed end face.

15. The laryngoscope blade of claim 14, comprising a camera element positioned within the channel.

16. The laryngoscope blade of claim 14, wherein the rigid spatulate shaped portion is thicker than the outer wall.

17. A laryngoscope to assist intubation of a patient, comprising: a laryngoscope handle portion; a blade portion, the blade portion comprising: an outer wall forming a channel, the channel extending from a proximal opening and terminating in a closed end face, wherein the closed end face is at least partially transparent, wherein the outer wall comprises an electrical contact configured to couple to the laryngoscope handle portion, the electrical contact being positioned at or near the proximal opening; and a rigid spatulate shaped portion that extends past the closed end face of the channel and terminating at a distal end of the laryngoscope blade, wherein the spatulate shaped portion is elongated in a proximal-distal direction past the closed end face.

18. A laryngoscope to assist intubation of a patient, comprising: a laryngoscope handle portion; a blade portion configured to couple to the laryngoscope handle portion, the blade portion comprising: an outer wall forming a channel, the channel terminating in a closed end face, wherein the closed end face is at least partially transparent, wherein a longest dimension across a proximal opening of the channel is approximately equal to a longest dimension across a midpoint of the channel; and a rigid spatulate shaped portion that extends past the closed end face of the channel by a distance that is greater than a width of the channel and wherein the rigid spatulate shaped portion is thicker than the outer wall.

Description

(1) In order to provide a better understanding of the present invention, embodiments will now be described by way of example only, and with reference to the following Figures, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a drawing of a laryngoscope according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

(3) FIG. 2 shows a drawing of a laryngoscope according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

(4) FIG. 3 shows a drawing of the contact strips according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(5) In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the medical device is a laryngoscope which can be used for intubation of a tracheal tube.

(6) There is a provided a laryngoscope 1 which has a body 2 and a disposable blade 3. In the preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the blade 3 is made up from a rigid probe means 3a that has a spatulate shape. The rigid probe means 3a has an internal channel 6 which has a camera element inserted into it, such that the camera element 7 does not come into contact with the patient. The camera element 7 is elongate in form, and has any appropriate cross-section. The end of the camera element 7 that is not inserted into the channel 6 attaches to the body section 2. As the rigid probe means 3a fits over the camera element 7 like a sleeve, the camera element 7 will not come into contact with the patient during examination. This means that the camera element 7 that has been inserted into the channel 6 can be re-used while the rigid probe means 3a, which forms the outer layer, can be discarded. The body 2 is provided with a screen 10 for showing the images captured by the camera element 7 and other information.

(7) In an alternative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the rigid probe means 3a covers more of the length of the camera element and attaches to the body section 2 of the laryngoscope 1 directly.

(8) In the preferred embodiment, the rigid probe means 3a is made from a transparent material, such as plastic or perspex. If additional strength is required, a strengthening element 5 can be inserted into the channel 6 within the rigid probe means 3a, either as an integral element which can be discarded along with the rigid probe means 3a after use, or as a reusable element which can optionally be attached to the body 2 of the laryngoscope 1, such that it can be inserted into the next rigid probe means 3a that is to be used.

(9) The larygoscope 1 may have a screen 10, shown in dashed lines in FIG. 2, for showing the images captured by the camera 7 and any other information. The screen 10 may couple to the body section 2.

(10) The channel 6 can also be used to house a light source, which can be inserted into the channel 6 in the centre of the rigid probe means 3a so that a practitioner can visualise a trachea to help in the positioning of a tracheal tube. The electrical components which run the camera or the light can be housed in the body 2 of the laryngoscope 1 or externally to the laryngoscope 1 and the relevant parts can simply be slipped in and out of the channel 6 and of the blade 3 when required. This again means that the blade 3 can be discarded with the expensive lighting or camera elements 7 being kept for further use, without them having ever been in contact with a patient

(11) In order to allow the blade 3 and body 2 to be easily separable, data is transferred wirelessly between the camera element 7 and the body 2, which contains electrical components that relate to the camera element 7. The wireless transfer is preferably via contact points in the form of contact strips 8 but can also be via optical data transfer methods or radio frequency data transfer methods. This use of wireless data transfer removes the need for a flying lead between the body 2 and blade 3 which make cleaning more difficult and can result in the laryngoscope 1 being clumsy to use.

(12) The contact points are preferably in the form of conductive contact strips 8. In the preferred embodiment the strips 8 are formed partially on the camera element 7 and partially on the rigid probe means 3a such that when the camera element 7 is inserted into the rigid probe means 3a, the strips 8a and 8b are brought into contact to form continuous strips 8. In typical cases, there will be four contact strips 8, two for transferring data and two for transferring power (FIG. 3). The body 2 containing electrical components which run the camera element 7 is also provided with contact points and these will usually be in the form of retractable bearings 9 or retractable pins or other resiliently biased contact means.

(13) These bearings or pins may also act as a gripping method to hold the blade in place. Corresponding ratchet type tracks (preferably conductive) enables the blade to be adjusted in length.

(14) In order to miniaturise a camera element 7, at least part of the transparent section of the rigid probe means 3a forms a lens 4, such that the camera element 7 itself does not require a lens, but can simply be slipped into the channel 6 of the blade 3. The lens 4 on the blade 3 acts then acts as a lens 4 for the camera element 7. This inclusion of the lens 4 into the disposable rigid probe means 3a means that the camera element 7 can be smaller than is typically achievable, making it particularly suitable for use in a medical device, such as a laryngoscope 1.

(15) One of the benefits of the disposability of the rigid probe means 3a part of the blade 3 is that there will be no cross-contamination to patients, and no lengthy cleaning procedures are required. However, to further ensure that a blade 3 is not reused, it is possible to include a spoiling mechanism between the blade 3 and the body 2 of the laryngoscope 1. The spoiling mechanism can take the form of a breaking of electrical connections when the blade 3 and body 2 are parted, such that if the same blade 3 and body 2 are reconnected, no power is provided to anything inserted into the channel 6 of the blade 3. Alternatively, the blade 3 may comprise protrusions which are able to fix into ingressions in the body 2 of the laryngoscope 1, such that the protrusions break off when the blade 3 is removed from the body 2, such that the blade 3 cannot then be reused.

(16) It can be seen that the current invention has a number of benefits over the prior art and a number of possible uses. Although the examples above relate to a laryngoscope, it can be seen that the concept can be extended to other medical and veterinary devices and still stay within the scope of the present invention. The fact that the blade is fully disposable is also of great importance, as it means that practitioners are required to change blades and the product is both simple to use and cheap to manufacture.

(17) It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiment has been described by way of example only, and not in any limiting sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended Claims.