Portable slit lamp

1. Portable slit-lamp apparatus, including:

a body;

solid state lamp means and associated optics carried by said body for generating a narrow beam of light and projecting the beam onto the cornea of a patient's eye for reflection by structures of the eye, when the body is held at a suitable position in front of the eye; and

means mounted in cooperation with said body and said solid state lamp means to detect a reflection of said narrow beam of light by structures of the eye and to make an image thereof, which image is, or is processable to provide, a digital record of said reflection;

wherein the apparatus is able to be held in the hand of an operator; and

wherein said associated optics include an elongated lens of uniform cross-section arranged with its axis generally aligned with said elongated lamp means, for focusing a light beam emitted thereby of elongated cross-section towards said cornea, as said narrow beam of light.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said solid-state lamp means comprises one or more light emitting diodes.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said means to detect the reflection of said narrow beam of light is a digital camera and associated optics.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said means to detect the reflection of said narrow beam of light is a CCD camera and associated optics.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2 , further including means to transmit said digital record for storage, and for review and diagnosis subsequently and/or at a remote location.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said narrow beam is of elongated slit-shaped cross section.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said solid-state lamp means consists of a pair of solid-state lamps whereby the lamp means is generally elongated.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said solid-state lamps are light emitting diodes.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said associated optics include structure defining a slit aligned with and disposed to receive light from said elongated light means, to define a light beam of elongated cross section.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein said lens is a semi-cylindrical lens.

11. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said means to detect the reflection of said narrow beam of light is a digital camera and associated optics.

12. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said means to detect the reflection of said narrow beam of light is a CCD camera and associated optics.

13. Apparatus according to claim 7 , further including means to adjust the width of said narrow beam of light.

14. Apparatus according to claim 7 , further including means to transmit said digital record for storage, and for review and diagnosis subsequently and/or at a remote location.

15. Apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said lens is a semi-cylindrical lens.

16. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein there are a pair of said-solid state lamp means and associated optics selectively operable for generating respective said narrow beams of light and projecting them onto the corneas of the patients left and right eyes respectively.

17. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means to detect the reflection of said narrow beam of light is a digital camera and associated optics.

18. Apparatus according to claim 17 , further including means to transmit said digital record for storage, and for review and diagnosis subsequently and/or at a remote location.

19. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means to detect the reflection of said narrow beam of light is a CCD camera and associated optics.

20. Apparatus according to claim 19 , further including means to transmit said digital record for storage, and for review and diagnosis subsequently and/or at a remote location.

21. Apparatus according to claim 1 , further including means mounted to said body for providing background illumination of the cornea.

22. Apparatus according to claim 21 further including means to adjust the brightness of said background illumination.

23. Apparatus according to claim 1 , further including means for adjusting the brightness of said solid-state lamp means.

24. Apparatus according to claim 1 , further including means to adjust the width of said narrow beam of light.

25. Apparatus according to claim 1 , further including means to selectively project a beam of light from a solid-state lamp to obtain red reflex.

26. Apparatus according to claim 1 , further including solid-state lamp and lens means to selectively project a beam of light to obtain an image of the retina.

27. Apparatus according to claim 1 , further including means to transmit said digital record for storage, and for review and diagnosis subsequently and/or at a remote location.

28. Apparatus according to claim 27 , wherein said means to transmit the digital record comprises a cabling link to a local computer for storage or optionally for online transmission to the remote location.

29. Apparatus according to claim 27 , wherein said means to transmit the digital record comprises a radio, microwave or infra-red transmitter for communicating with a local computer for storage or optionally for online transmission to the remote location.

30. A method of ophthalmic diagnosis utilizing a portable slit lamp apparatus comprising

i) a body able to be held in the hand of an operator;

ii) solid state lamp means and associated optics carried by said body for generating a narrow beam of light and projecting the beam onto the cornea of a patient's eye for reflection by structures of the eye, when the body is held at a suitable position in front of the eye, wherein said associated optics include an elongated lens of uniform cross-section arranged with its axis generally aligned with said elongated lamp means, for focusing a light beam emitted thereby of elongated cross-section towards said cornea, as said narrow beam of light; and

iii) means mounted in cooperation with said body and said solid state lamp means to detect a reflection of said narrow beam of light by structures of the eye and to make an image thereof, which image is a digital record of said reflection

the method comprising:

at first location, projecting a narrow beam of light, generated by said solid-state lamp means and associated optics, onto the cornea of a patient's eye;

detecting, with said detecting means, a reflection of said beam of light by structures of the eye;

making a digital record of the reflection; and

transmitting or forwarding said digital record to a second location remote from the first for review and diagnosis.

31. A method according to claim 30 wherein said narrow beam is of elongated slit-shaped cross section.

32. A method according to claim 30 further including reviewing the digital record of the reflection and performing an ophthalmic diagnosis on the basis of the record.

33. A method according to claim 32 further including transmitting or forwarding the diagnosis to the first location.

34. A method according to claim 30 further including reproducing said digital record as a viewable image.

35. A method according to claim 30 further including reviewing the digital record of the reflection and performing an ophthalmic diagnosis on the basis of the record.

36. A method according to claim 35 further including transmitting or forwarding the diagnosis to the first location.

37. A method according to claim 30 where said transmission of the digital record of the reflection and/or of the diagnosis is online via the internet or other network means from a local computer at the first location.