Welcome to Surgery Microscopes

The invention concerns a microscope having a power and data transfer system between a microscope body and an external control device or peripheral device. The invention relates generally to surgical microscopes, and particularly to an improved configurations for linking a microscope body to an external power supply, control device, and light source. A surgical microscope for the purposes of the invention is understood to be a microscope that is movable with respect to an object and thus possesses certain flexibility in terms of any connections to external devices. Such microscopes are very often used in surgical operations. Such microscopes are often also used for industrial or commercial applications. Such microscopes often have an integrated illumination system in which the light source is built into the microscope. With such external accessories, the light is directed through a light guide from the external light source to the microscope body, and through the latter onto the surgical field. Such microscopes are often located on the extension arms of stands, while the external devices and control systems are housed in the column region of the stand. The connection between the external devices and the microscope body or the terminals located thereon is accomplished via flexible lines such as light guides, electrical cables, electronic data lines, etc. In some cases they interfere with visibility, are heavy, result in jamming and limitations of movement, and moreover look untidy. In the field of surgical microscopy, they result in increased surface areas which thus make the overall structure more susceptible to soiling. The assignee of the present application has already taken initial steps intended to remedy this unfavorable situation. This hose was relatively bulky and inflexible, however, and did not make optimum use of space since it had to be made sufficiently large for subsequent installation of an undetermined number of cables, even if not all the cables were pulled through. It is thus the object of the invention to implement the connection between the external devices and the microscope body in as lightweight, easily movable, and retrofit table a fashion as possible, and with as few cables as possible. The present invention, as broadly defined, achieves this principal object on the basis of a physical size reduction and simultaneous weight reduction. A preferred configuration of a cable according to the present invention, which optionally can also be used independently of the invention, is coaxially multi-layered, one of the layers, but preferably the core of the cable, being configured as a mirror optical system or fiber optical system or as a liquid light guide, while at least two layers are configured as an at least two pole power cable. Identical parts bear identical reference characters; different parts having functions that are identical in principle bear identical reference characters with differing indices. A power connection 4c in the form of a light guide transmits power in the form of light flux. The microscope thus comprises a terminal 3 for power connection 4c and a terminal 6 for the data connection. An extremely wide variety of combinations lies within the context of the invention. This includes the case in which electrical signals are transferred over the light guide by light modulation. The invention encompasses, on the one hand, corresponding modulation of the electrical or light fluxes that are flowing in the manner of power, and/or the fact that electrical or optical signals are sent, parallel to these flow power fluxes, over the same line in each case.

GENERAL SURGERY SURGICAL OPERATING MICROSCOPE

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