Methods of determining motion and distance during medical and veterinary procedures

1. A method for determining distance between a probe tip and a proximate surface of an internal tissue during an endoscopic surgical procedure, the method comprising:

providing a handheld probe comprising (a) a handpiece having a probe tip insertable into a patient's body and disposed at an end of the handpiece, and (b) an optical coherence tomography (OCT) probe connected to the handpiece, such that a functionality of the OCT probe is provided at the probe tip, the OCT probe comprising a probe lens;

inserting the probe tip into the patient's body and disposing it adjacent to the surface of the internal tissue; and

determining the distance between the probe tip and the surface of the tissue by measuring an amount of light reflected off the surface and captured by the probe lens and determining the distance from the measured amount of reflected light, the determined distance being inversely proportional to the captured amount of reflected light.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the handpiece has a second probe connected thereto, such that a functionality of the second probe is provided at the probe tip, the second probe comprising an endoillumination probe or a laser therapy probe, the method further comprising adjusting an output of the second probe based on the distance between the probe tip and the tissue.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the probe is disposed adjacent a retina.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second probe comprises an endoillumination probe, the method comprising adjusting an output of the endoillumination probe based on the distance between the probe tip and the tissue.

5. A method for modulating probe output, the method comprising:

disposing a tip of a probe providing optical coherence tomography and endoillumination probe functionalities proximate human or animal tissue;

measuring a distance between the tip and the tissue or a feature within the tissue; and

modulating an output intensity, at the probe tip, of the endoillumination probe functionality in response to a change in the measured distance such that the output intensity at the probe tip is decreased as the measured distance decreases.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein modulating the output intensity at the probe tip comprises limiting the output intensity when the measured distance is within a specified range of the tissue.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein modulating the output intensity at the probe tip comprises increasing the output intensity automatically as distance increases.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein modulating the output intensity at the probe tip comprises disabling the endoillumination probe functionality as the measured distance falls below a specified distance.

9. The method of claim 5 , wherein modulating the output intensity at the probe tip comprises selective wavelength filtering whereby an output intensity at at least one wavelength is reduced in intensity as the distance decreases.

10. The method of claim 5 , wherein measuring the distance comprises (i) measuring an amount of light reflected off a surface of the tissue and captured by a probe lens and (ii) determining the distance from the measured amount of reflected light, the determined distance being inversely proportional to the captured amount of reflected light.

11. The method of claim 5 , wherein measuring the distance comprises (i) measuring an OCT reflectance profile of the tissue with the OCT probe, the reflectance profile comprising a plurality of sequential reflections off the tissue, a first reflection corresponding to a surface of the tissue, and (ii) determining the distance between the probe tip and the surface of the tissue from the first reflection of the reflectance profile.