Sterile Hand Held Refractive Surgery Slit Lamp Illumination System

Abstract

A sterile hand held slit lamp for laser refractive surgery includes a charging base that charges a battery while a hand held slit lamp is positioned thereon. A sterile supple cover is positioned over a slit lamp handle while supported by the charging base. A sterile gloved operator grasps the slit lamp handle covered by the sterile cover and illuminates an eye with a slit lamp beam. In many embodiments, an operating microscope provides a view of the eye to an operator while the slit lamp beam illuminates the eye. Operator adjustable controls located on the slit lamp handle are manipulated through a sterile cover and control a length, a width and an intensity of the slit lamp beam. An operator wearing sterile gloves adjusts a position of a piece of tissue near an incision, and removes debris from a surgical incision in tissue after viewing the eye illuminated with the hand held slit lamp beam.

1 . A method of viewing an eye during refractive surgery, the method comprising: 
 removably covering a portion of a hand held slit lamp with a flexible sterile cover;    grasping the portion of the hand held slit lamp covered with the sterile cover;    illuminating the eye with an elongate beam of light projected from the hand held slit lamp; and    viewing the illuminated eye through an operating microscope.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising adjusting at least one of a width, a length and an intensity of the beam of light by manually manipulating an input of the slit lamp through the cover with the hand.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising charging a battery of the hand held slit lamp while the slit lamp is placed in a charging base.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  placing a portion of the slit lamp in a charging base.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the charging base is attached to a laser refractive surgery system.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the charging base is placed on a surface of a laser refractive surgery system.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising aligning the light beam with the eye by feeling an orientation of a feature through the cover.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising orienting a handle of the slit lamp by feeling an orientation of a tactile feature through the cover.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising feeling a tactile feature corresponding to a control through the cover, the control adjusting any one of a length, a width and an intensity of the light beam.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising adjusting the control in response to the step of feeling.