PORTABLE DIGITAL MEDICAL CAMERA FOR CAPTURING IMAGES OF THE RETINA OR THE EXTERNAL AUDITORY CANAL, AND METHODS OF USE

摘要

A hand-held digital camera for obtaining images of a portion of a patient's body and having a hand-held housing, a visible light source located within the housing for providing light along an illumination path from the housing aperture to the patient's body, an image sensor located within the housing that detects light returning from the patient's body along an imaging path that passes into the housing aperture, an optical system located within the housing with separate illumination and imaging paths, an external optical aperture common to the illumination and imaging systems, wherein the illumination and imaging sub-apertures are wholly contained within the common external aperture, are longitudinally coincident, and are laterally separated and non-overlapping, a digital memory device for storing captured images, an output display carried by the housing, and the ability to electronically transmit stored images. The camera can be used for retinal imaging and for otoscopy.