Vaginal speculum assembly having portable illuminator

1. A speculum assembly comprising:

a speculum including a blade portion insertable into a vagina and a handle portion having an open-ended receiving cavity, said receiving cavity being entirely enclosed except for said open end;

a removable illuminator having an integral power source and an integral light source, both disposed within an illuminator housing, said illuminator being sized to releasably fit at least partially within said open-ended receiving cavity of the handle portion; and

means for protecting said illuminator from patient contamination when said illuminator is fitted in said receiving cavity.

2. An assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein said protecting means includes a disposable sheath member that covers at least a portion of the exterior of said illuminator.

3. An assembly as recited in claim 2 , wherein said disposable sheath member covers substantially the entirety of the exterior of the illuminator housing.

4. An assembly as recited in claim 3 , wherein said disposable sheath member includes at least one window portion made from a light transmissive material.

5. An assembly as recited in claim 3 , wherein said disposable sheath member is at least partially formed from a light transmissive material.

6. An assembly as recited in claim 3 , wherein said disposable sheath member selectively passes only a portion of the light spectrum therethrough.

7. An assembly as recited in claim 3 , wherein said disposable sheath member is made from a colored material.

8. An assembly as recited in claim 2 , wherein said disposable sheath member covers at least an exterior extending portion of the illuminator, said disposable sheath member extending from said open-ended receiving cavity when said illuminator is inserted therein, wherein said exterior extending portion of said illuminator is defined by an outer profile that is larger than that of the outer profile of the handle portion of said speculum.

9. An assembly as recited in claim 8 , wherein said illuminator housing is insertable only to a predetermined distance within said receiving cavity, thereby defining a gap between the end of said handle portion and the nearest surface of said extending portion of said illuminator.

10. An assembly as recited in claim 9 , wherein said defined gap is formed irrespective of whether said illuminator includes said sheath member.

11. An assembly as recited in claim 9 , wherein said defined gap permits assembly of said illuminator to said handle portion of said speculum without pinching of a user's glove between the illuminator and said handle portion.

12. An assembly as recited in claim 9 , wherein said gap is no less than approximately 0.020 inches.

13. An assembly as recited in claim 8 , including a plurality of said disposable sheath members that are disposed in a stacked configuration to permit dispensing thereof.

14. An assembly as recited in claim 13 , wherein said plurality of disposable sheath members are disposed in a sheath member supply, said supply being configured to permit individual dispensing of said stacked sheath members relative to at least one illuminator.

15. An assembly as recited in claim 8 , wherein said disposable sheath member includes at least one perforated tear strip to enable removal of said sheath member from said illuminator.

16. An assembly as recited in claim 2 , wherein said disposable sheath member is made from a highly flexible material.

17. An assembly as recited in claim 2 , wherein said disposable sheath member is made from a semi-rigid plastic material.

18. An assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein said illuminator housing includes a substantially cylindrical projecting region within which said light source is disposed, and a pair of protective shoulders surrounding said cylindrical projecting region.

19. An assembly as recited in claim 18 , wherein each of said protective shoulders is contoured.

20. An assembly as recited in claim 18 , including a switch formed on the exterior of said illuminator housing, said housing including a slot through which said switch is disposed, said switch being a slide switch configured to prevent pinching of a user's glove engaging said switch in the use of said illuminator.

21. An assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein said illuminator housing includes a portion that extends from said handle portion when said illuminator is inserted into said receiving cavity, said extending portion being contoured to facilitate cleaning thereof.

22. An assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein said illuminator is reusable.

23. An assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein said speculum is disposable.

24. A speculum assembly comprising:

a speculum including a blade portion insertable into a vagina and a handle portion having a receiving cavity, said receiving cavity being fully enclosed with the exception of an open end at the lower end of said handle portion;

a removable illuminator having an integral light source and an integral power supply, both disposed within an illuminator housing, said illuminator housing being sized to releasably fit at least partially within said receiving cavity of the handle portion; and

anti-pinch means for preventing pinching of a user's glove during use of said assembly.

25. An assembly as recited in claim 24 , wherein said illuminator housing and said speculum include features such that when said illuminator housing is inserted into said receiving cavity, a gap between the lower end of said handle portion and the nearest surface of an extending portion of said illuminator is created, said gap providing said anti-pinch means.

26. An assembly as recited in claim 25 , wherein the exterior profile of said extending portion of said illuminator is larger than the exterior profile of said handle portion.

27. An assembly as recited in claim 25 , wherein said gap is no less than approximately 0.020 inches.

28. An assembly as recited in claim 25 , including a disposable sheath member sized to cover at least a portion of said illuminator, said sheath member having a thickness which is smaller than said gap.

29. An assembly as recited in claim 28 , wherein said sheath member covers the majority of the exterior of said illuminator.

30. An assembly as recited in claim 25 , including a sheath member sized to cover the extending portion of said illuminator.

31. An assembly as recited in claim 25 , wherein said illuminator includes a housing having a substantially cylindrical projecting region that includes said contained light source and a pair of spaced protective shoulders.

32. An assembly as recited in claim 31 , wherein said speculum includes fingers sized to fit in spacings defined between said protective shoulders and said cylindrical projecting region when said illuminator is inserted in said receiving cavity.

33. An assembly as recited in claim 32 , wherein said fingers engage said housing within said spacings and engage against the exterior of said housing, thereby defining said gap.

34. An assembly as recited in claim 32 , wherein said fingers provide alignment for said illuminator in relation to a light pipe of said speculum, wherein engagement of said illuminator using said fingers within said spacings optically aligns said light source with said light pipe.

35. An assembly as recited in claim 34 , wherein said light pipe includes a proximal end to which said illuminator is optically coupled and a distal end, said distal end being contoured.

36. An assembly as recited in claim 35 , wherein said contoured distal end is provided with an optical finish.

37. An assembly as recited in claim 35 , wherein said contoured distal end of said light pipe includes lateral edges having radii less than 0.010 inches.

38. An assembly as recited in claim 24 , wherein said illuminator a housing includes a switch to selectively energize said contained light source, said anti-pinch means including a slot formed in the exterior of said housing into which said switch is disposed, such that an engageable portion of said switch is situated within said slot.