Flexible objective lens assembly and microscope

1. An objective lens assembly for attachment to a surgical microscope comprising:

an objective lens;

a roll section for allowing the objective lens to be rotated about a first axis without causing a pair of eyepieces of the microscope to move wherein the roll section may be rotated by a user in a direction of a field of interest;

a pitch section for allowing the objective lens to be rotated about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis without causing the pair of eyepieces to move wherein the pitch section may be rotated by a user in the direction of the field of interest;

an attachment mechanism for attaching the objective lens assembly to the microscope; and

wherein the objective lens assembly is moved to the field of interest by a user grasping and moving the objective lens assembly in the direction of the field of interest.

2. The objective lens assembly of claim 1 further including a fine focus mechanism.

3. The objective lens assembly of claim 1 further including an illumination module.

4. The objective lens assembly of claim 1 , wherein the roll section rotates sideways with respect to the pitch section and includes a ninety degree minor that rotates as the roll section rotates for directing light towards the pair of eyepieces.

5. The objective lens assembly of claim 1 , wherein the roll section rotates sideways with respect to the pitch section and includes at least a pair of prisms that rotate in unison for directing light towards the pair of eyepieces.

6. The objective lens assembly of claim 1 , wherein the roll section includes the objective lens.

7. The objective lens assembly of claim 1 , wherein the roll section includes an illumination module for illuminating an area being viewed by the microscope.

8. The objective lens assembly of claim 1 , wherein the objective lens includes a fine focus mechanism.

9. The objective lens assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pitch section rotates about an axis perpendicular with respect to the roll section.

10. The objective lens assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pitch section is a type of inclinable binocular unit.

11. The objective lens assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pitch section includes the attachment mechanism.

12. A surgical microscope comprising: a viewing unit through which a user views a field of interest; a microscope body cooperatively attached to the viewing unit; support structure connected to the microscope body for supporting and positioning the microscope in a desired position including a support arm pivotally connected to the microscope body; and an objective lens assembly attached to the microscope body including, an objective lens; a roll section for allowing the objective lens to be rotated about a first axis without causing the viewing unit of the microscope to move wherein the roll section may be rotated by a user in a direction of a field of interest; a pitch section for allowing the objective lens to be rotated about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis without causing the viewing unit to move wherein the pitch section may be rotated by a user in the direction of the field of interest; and wherein the objective lens assembly is moved to view the field of interest by a user grasping and moving the objective lens assembly in the direction of the field of interest.

13. The microscope of claim 12 , wherein the viewing unit includes a pair of eyepieces and an inclinable binocular unit.

14. The microscope of claim 12 , wherein the viewing unit includes a pair of eyepieces.

15. The microscope of claim 12 , wherein the viewing unit includes a beam-splitter and a connector for attaching additional viewing units or optical recording devices.

16. The microscope of claim 12 , wherein the support structure includes multiple arms that are rotatable about different axes for initially positioning the microscope.

17. The microscope of claim 12 , wherein the support structure is mounted on a wheeled base to allow the microscope to be easily moved.

18. The microscope of claim 12 , wherein the support structure includes a power or illumination source.

19. The objective lens assembly of claim 12 further including a fine focus mechanism.

20. The objective lens assembly of claim 12 further including an illumination module.

21. The objective lens assembly of claim 12 , wherein the roll section rotates sideways with respect to the pitch section and includes a ninety degree minor that rotates as the roll section rotates for directing light towards the pair of eyepieces.

22. The objective lens assembly of claim 12 , wherein the roll section rotates sideways with respect to the pitch section and includes at least a pair of prisms that rotate in unison for directing light towards the eyepiece.

23. The objective lens assembly of claim 12 , wherein the roll section includes the objective lens.

24. The objective lens assembly of claim 12 , wherein the roll section includes an illumination module for illuminating an area being viewed by the microscope.

25. The objective lens assembly of claim 12 , wherein the objective lens includes a fine focus mechanism.

26. The objective lens assembly of claim 12 , wherein the pitch section rotates about an axis perpendicular with respect to the roll section.

27. The objective lens assembly of claim 12 , wherein the pitch section is a type of inclinable binocular unit.

28. The objective lens assembly of claim 12 , wherein the pitch section includes the attachment mechanism.

29. A surgical microscope comprising: a viewing unit including a pair of eyepieces, through which a user views a field of interest; a microscope body cooperatively attached to the viewing unit; support structure including multiple support arms connected to the microscope body for supporting and positioning the microscope in a desired position including one of the multiple support arms pivotally connected to the microscope body; and an objective lens assembly attached to the microscope body including, an objective lens, including a fine focus mechanism; a roll section incorporating the objective lens and including a pair of prisms for allowing the objective lens to be rotated about a first axis without causing the viewing unit of the microscope to move wherein the roll section may be rotated by a user in a direction of a field of interest; a pitch section including a type of inclinable binocular unit for allowing the pitch section to rotate about an axis perpendicular with respect to the roll section thereby allowing the objective lens to be moved about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis without causing the viewing unit to move wherein the pitch section may be rotated by a user in the direction of the field of interest; and wherein the objective lens assembly is moved to view the field of interest by a user grasping and moving the objective lens assembly in the direction of the field of interest.

30. The microscope of claim 29 , wherein the viewing unit includes a beam-splitter and a connector for attaching additional viewing units or optical recording devices.

31. The microscope of claim 29 , wherein the multiple arms are rotatable about different axes for initially positioning the microscope.

32. The microscope of claim 29 , wherein the support structure is mounted on a wheeled base to allow the microscope to be easily moved.

33. The microscope of claim 29 , wherein the objective lens assembly further includes an illumination module.

34. The microscope of claim 29 , wherein the illumination module is connected to the roll section.

35. A method of using a surgical microscope including a viewing unit having a pair of eyepieces through which a user views a field of interest, a microscope body cooperatively attached to the viewing unit, support structure including multiple support arms connected to the microscope body for supporting and positioning the microscope in a desired position including one of the multiple support arms pivotally connected to the microscope body, the method comprising the steps of: attaching an objective lens assembly to the microscope body, the objective lens assembly including, an objective lens having a fine focus mechanism, a roll section attached to the objective lens and including a ninety degree mirror for allowing the objective lens to be rotated about a first axis without causing the viewing unit of the microscope to move, and a pitch section attached to the roll section including an inclinable binocular unit for allowing the pitch section to rotate about an axis perpendicular with respect to the roll section thereby allowing the objective lens to be moved about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis without causing the viewing unit to move, and a user directing the objective lens assembly to view the field of interest by grasping and moving the objective lens assembly in the direction of the field of interest.

36. The method of claim 35 , wherein a pair of prisms are substituted to replace the ninety degree mirror.

37. An objective lens assembly comprising: an objective lens; a roll section attached to the objective lens, the roll section including a right angle mirror that rotates at a rate half as much as the objective lens rotates when the objective lens assembly is rotated in a roll axis by the user; a pitch section attached to the roll section and rotatable about a first axis orthogonal to the roll axis such that the objective lens rotates about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis when the objective lens assembly is rotated about the pitch axis by the user; and wherein the objective lens assembly may be grasped by a user and manually moved to a desired field of interest in pitch and roll without causing the viewing unit to move.

38. The objective lens assembly of claim 37 further including magnification optics connected to the pitch section, wherein the magnification optics include rotatable lens pairs for providing a variety of magnification powers.

39. A surgical microscope comprising: a viewing unit through which a user views a field of interest; and an objective lens assembly including a housing, the objective lens assembly further including; an objective lens attached to the housing; a roll section pivotally connected to the housing for allowing the objective lens to be rotated about a first axis without causing the viewing unit of the microscope to move wherein the roll section may be rotated by a user in a direction of a field of interest; a pitch section rotatable with respect to the housing and the roll section for allowing the objective lens to be rotated about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis without causing the viewing unit to move wherein the pitch section may be rotated by a user in the direction of the field of interest; wherein the housing may be attached to a support arm or other structure, thereby eliminating the need for a microscope body; and wherein the objective lens assembly is moved to view the field of interest by a user grasping and moving the objective lens assembly in the direction of the field of interest.