Proximity detector with a medical instrument
First Claim
1. A hypodermic syringe and needle assembly, characterized by an audio transducer acoustically coupled with a needle of said hypodermic syringe and needle assembly to sense audio frequency pressure changes or vibrations in tissue adjacent to the needle, at least part of the needle acting to transmit said pressure changes or vibrations to said transducer, and means sensitive to the amplitude of an output of said transducer to indicate the proximity of the needle to an object of interest.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A surgical or medical implement including a proximity detector to indicate the distance from an internal organ or member such as an artery. In one form the invention is applied to a surgical scalpel (12) with an audio transducer in contact with the blade (11) and connected to an electrical circuit (18) for providing a warning signal. In another form the invention is applied to a hypodermic syringe (50) with a transducer (60) in contact with the needle (56) and connected through circuitry (62) with a warning lamp or buzzer (63,64).
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Citations
13 Claims
- 1. A hypodermic syringe and needle assembly, characterized by an audio transducer acoustically coupled with a needle of said hypodermic syringe and needle assembly to sense audio frequency pressure changes or vibrations in tissue adjacent to the needle, at least part of the needle acting to transmit said pressure changes or vibrations to said transducer, and means sensitive to the amplitude of an output of said transducer to indicate the proximity of the needle to an object of interest.
- 8. The combination of a proximity detector and a surgical or medical implement designed to penetrate a living body, the proximity detector comprising an audio transducer carried by the implement for detecting sounds or audio frequency changes in pressure levels in a surrounding zone of said living body, and a response or actuator system coupled to the transducer to provide an output related to the amplitude of the transducer output and hence to the position of the implement relative to another object of interest within said body.
Specification