# US 12,000,549 B2 · Head-mounted medical/dental accessories with voice-controlled operation

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- Number: US 12,000,549 B2
- Document ID: US12000549B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/068,544
- Filed: 2020-10-12
- Published: 2021-01-28
- Granted: 2024-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2018-06-25
- Assignees: General Scientific Corporation
- Applicants: General Scientific Corp.
- Inventors: Byung J. Chang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12000549B2

## CPC

- F21L 4/00: Electric lighting devices with self-contained electric batteries or cells
- A61B 90/30: Devices for illuminating a surgical field, the devices having an interrelation with other surgical devices or with a surgical procedure
- A61B 90/35: Supports therefor
- A61B 90/361: {Image-producing devices, e.g. surgical cameras}
- F21V 21/084: Head fittings
- F21V 23/02: the elements being transformers, impedances {or power supply units, e.g. a transformer with a rectifier}
- F21V 23/04: the elements being switches (safety devices F21V25/00)
- F21V 23/0471: {the sensor detecting the proximity, the presence or the movement of an object or a person}
- G02C 11/10: {Electronic devices other than hearing aids}
- G06F 3/16: Sound input; Sound output (speech processing G10L)
- G06F 3/167: {Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback}
- G10L 15/22: Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
- H04N 23/60: Control of cameras or camera modules
- H04N 23/62: Control of parameters via user interfaces
- H05B 45/10: Controlling the intensity of the light
- H05B 47/105: in response to determined parameters
- H05B 47/12: by detecting audible sound
- H05B 47/125: by using cameras
- H05B 47/13: by using passive infrared detectors
- A61B 2017/00203: {with speech control or speech recognition}
- A61B 2017/00207: {with hand gesture control or hand gesture recognition}
- A61B 2017/00734: {battery operated}
- A61B 2090/309: {using white LEDs}
- A61B 2090/3616: {Magnifying glass}
- A61B 2090/502: {Headgear, e.g. helmet, spectacles}
- F21V 23/003: {the elements being electronics drivers or controllers for operating the light source, e.g. for a LED array}
- F21V 33/0052: {Audio or video equipment, e.g. televisions, telephones, cameras or computers; Remote control devices therefor}
- F21W 2131/202: for dentistry
- F21Y 2115/10: Light-emitting diodes [LED]
- G02C 7/088: {Lens systems mounted to spectacles}
- G02C 11/04: Illuminating means
- G10L 2015/223: {Execution procedure of a spoken command}
- H04N 23/67: Focus control based on electronic image sensor signals
- H04N 23/69: Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming
- H05B 45/12: using optical feedback
- Y02B 20/40: Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection
- F21L: LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF, BEING PORTABLE OR SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR TRANSPORTATION
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- F21V: FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G02C: SPECTACLES; SUNGLASSES OR GOGGLES INSOFAR AS THEY HAVE THE SAME FEATURES AS SPECTACLES; CONTACT LENSES (trial frames for testing the eyes A61B3/04; goggles or eyeshields not having the same features as spectacles A61F9/00)
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H05B: ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
- F21W: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
- F21Y: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO THE FORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THE LIGHT EMITTED
- Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS

## Abstract

Head-mounted accessories for surgeons and medical/dental practitioners are equipped with no-touch, hands-free controls. A voice-activated headlamp includes a controller operative to send a signal to control a light source in accordance with a voice command received through an integrated or remote microphone. The voice command and control may be speaker-dependent or speaker-independent, and the head-mounted unit may include an interface to a computer for voice-command training or other purposes. The head-mounted unit includes a memory for storing the voice commands. The invention may be used to control other medical/dental accessories such as a head-mounted video camera, in which case the controller is further operative to at least turn the video camera ON or OFF. More preferably, a controller is additionally operative to control the focus or zoom of the video camera in accordance with a voice command.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A voice-activated headlamp, comprising:
a housing with proximal and distal ends;
an LED light source disposed in the housing and arranged such that light from the source is directed outwardly from the distal end of the housing;
wherein the proximal end of the housing includes a structure enabling the housing to be head-mounted to a headband or eyeglass frames;
a microphone supported on or in the housing;
a power switch disposed within the housing;
a battery providing electrical power to the LED light source through the power switch; and
an electronic controller disposed within the housing, and wherein the controller is operative to perform the following functions:
receive electrical signals from a microphone,
determine if the electrical signals received from the microphone are representative of voice commands, and
control the operation of the power switch to at least turn the LED light source ON and OFF when the electrical signals received from the microphone are representative of voice commands from a user corresponding to LED light source ON and OFF commands, respectively;
wherein the LED light source, the microphone, the power switch, and the electronic controller are all contained within the housing such that, with the exception of the battery, the voice-activated headlamp is entirely self-contained, requiring only electrical power from the battery to operate; and
wherein the battery provides a fixed-voltage power signal from a remote battery unit such that no control signals are required from the remote battery unit to the housing.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The voice-activated headlamp of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operative to receive electrical signals from an additional microphone disposed remotely from the housing.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The voice-activated headlamp of claim 1, wherein the housing includes an interface for receiving power from the remote battery unit.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The voice-activated headlamp of claim 1, wherein the housing further includes an interface to a computer for voice-command training.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The voice-activated headlamp of claim 1, further including a memory contained within the housing in communication with the electronic controller for storing the voice commands.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The voice-activated headlamp of claim 1, further including a proximity sensor contained within the housing to assist in controlling the LED light source.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The voice-activated headlamp of claim 6, wherein the proximity sensor assists in setting an ON or OFF threshold of the LED light source.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The voice-activated headlamp of claim 7, wherein the proximity sensor is an active infrared (IR) sensor including an IR emitter and an IR detector.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The voice-activated headlamp of claim 1, wherein the power switch receives a fixed-voltage power signal directly from the battery.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The voice-activated headlamp of claim 1, wherein the battery is contained within a remote battery pack of the remote battery unit.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The voice-activated headlamp of claim 10, wherein the battery pack is a belt-worn battery pack.