Dual dimensional shoe sensor and foot pedal operated switch for surgical control
AssigneeAdvanced Medical Optics, Inc.
InventorJerry S. J. Chen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shoe sensor for surgical control which may be used in combination with a surgical footpedal includes a tilt sensor for determining angular movement and a cuff for supporting the tilt sensor on a user's in position for enabling the tilt sensor to determine lateral angle movement of the user's foot. A connector is provided for transfer of tilt sensor output to a surgical apparatus controller. When used in combination with a footpedal, the shoe sensor enables additional control parameters to be inputed to a controller by using tilt motion of a user's foot.
Claims20
A shoe sensor for surgical control, the shoe sensor comprising:
- a tilt sensor for determining angular movement, said tilt sensor being selected from a group consisting of an analog output sensor and a digital output sensor;
- a cuff for supporting said tilt sensor on a user's foot in a position for enabling said tilt sensor to determine angular movement of the user's foot;
- and
- a connector for transfer of tilt sensor output to a surgical apparatus controller.
In apparatus having a footpedal for operational control of a handpiece during surgery, an improvement comprising:
- a tilt sensor for determining angular movement of a user's foot while the user's forefoot and heel remain in contract with said footpedal, and providing a handpiece control signal corresponding to the angle of the user's foot;
- a cuff for supporting said tilt sensor on a user's foot in a position for enabling said tilt sensor to determine lateral angle movement of the user's foot;
- and
- a connector for transfer of tilt sensor output to a surgical apparatus controller.
The shoe sensor according to claims 7, 10 or 13 wherein the tilt sensor is selected from a group consisting of an analog output sensor and a digital output sensor.
Apparatus for operation control of a handpiece during surgery, the apparatus comprising:
- a foot pedal, said foot pedal comprising:
- a frame having a heel portion and a toe portion, the heel and toe portions being disposed at an angle with one another;
- a wedge having a generally triangular cross-section with first and second sides subtending a front of said wedge;
- and
- hinge means, pivotally mounting said wedge to said frame, for enabling said wedge to be flipped between a first position, having the wedge first side generally aligned with the frame heel portion and extending therefrom to form a first foot platform, and a second position, having the wedge second side generally aligned with the frame toe portion and extending therefrom to form a second foot platform;
- and
- a shoe sensor for determining angular movement of a user's foot while the user's forefoot and heel remain in contact with one of the first and second foot platforms, said shoe sensor comprising a tilt sensor for determining the angular movement;
- a cuff for supporting said tilt sensor on a user's foot in a position for enabling said tilt sensor to determine lateral angle movement of the user's foot;
- and
- a connector for transfer of tilt sensor output to a surgical apparatus controller.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.