HK1143939B - Attachable portable illumination apparatus for surgical instruments - Google Patents

Description

Attachable portable illumination apparatus for surgical instruments

Technical Field

The present invention relates to illumination devices (illuminations), and more particularly to portable illumination devices that can be easily attached, removed, and reattached to different surgical instruments and provide localized light in the surgical field.

Background

It is well known that surgery requires the surgeon extreme care and precision in performing the surgery. For accurate surgery, it is an essential condition that the surgeon can obtain good illumination, especially when performing surgery on cavities and recesses in the body that are normally difficult to see.

Surgeons and medical professionals have long sought improved illumination solutions, and various solutions have been proposed in the past, as will be discussed below.

Modern conventional and basic lighting systems are based on the use of strong overhead lights or flood lights located at a fairly distant location from the operating field. Currently, these are usually large and heavy lamps fixed to the ceiling of the operating room or to a support near the operating table. This system, still a piece of equipment necessary in any modern operating room (and still in the future), has several drawbacks with respect to it. First, this type of light source is not always capable of concentrating light at a target area, such as recesses and cavities in the human body that are inherently difficult to see. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that sometimes the surgeon's hands, shoulders and head can obstruct the light, which creates shadows in the surgical field. These very intense lights also generate a lot of heat, which can often be somewhat uncomfortable for surgeons and other medical personnel.

Although the lightheads should, and likely are, the basic equipment maintained in any modern operating room, they should be supplemented by other more localized lighting methods.

Due to the disadvantages of the dome light and for the purpose of bringing the light source closer to the operating field, other lighting systems have been developed which consist in strapping the light source to the surgeon's head cap. Currently, the light source of the system is associated with fiber optics, but in the past, other lighting solutions have also been proposed, such as incandescent bulbs.

This method of illumination, while also very useful and generally beneficial to the surgeon, has the disadvantage of forcing the surgeon to move his head and neck in order to shine light into the area where he wishes to perform the operation. In addition, such instruments are relatively heavy and cannot be supported on a person's head for extended periods of time, which can negatively impact the performance of the surgeon, especially during long surgical procedures. Headlamps also do not address many of the same problems with overhead space-fixed lamps, such as shadows created when hands and other objects are placed in the path of the light.

US 6.585.727 describes an illumination solution comprising a specially designed medical instrument that can temporarily receive a fiber optic cable that provides illumination to a surgical balloon. Although providing a better illumination of the target area, this system has a number of disadvantages, namely that it is overly complex and expensive, since it requires the manufacture of special dedicated surgical instruments with guides through which the fiber optic cables can pass. In addition to being quite difficult to perform during surgery, it is also time consuming because it is a time consuming and dexterous matter to thread the cable through a small guide on the surgical instrument. It is very certain that the disclosed solution is not sufficient for emergency situations. Finally, the system has the disadvantage that the person cannot easily change the position and angle of the light source.

WO 02/07632 provides a different approach to the problem of illuminating a surgical balloon. The invention consists of a lighting fixture attached to the actual interior of the patient's body by suturing and other trauma techniques, which is itself complex and may even violate the basic treatment principle of "not causing any harm in the first place". There are a number of disadvantages and drawbacks associated with this system, namely the complexity, cost and bulk of the appliance. Furthermore, the fact that the instrument is battery operated means that additional confirmation is required that the battery is charged before the surgery begins. This means additional effort and trouble for health care providers and equipment maintenance teams.

In US-2005/063177 to CORREA, Carlos et al, a lighting assembly is disclosed which can be used with a plurality of devices, comprising a light source with one or more light generating elements, preferably LEDs.

WO-2005/094712 discloses a surgical lamp comprising a plastic moulded element with a chamber for a magnet and another chamber for an LED. The light is envisioned to be attached to the surgical retractor by magnetic attraction, thereby addressing the cross-infection problem and addressing the disposable, price and materials issues associated with or in-line illumination of the retractor.

WO-2004/080291 discloses methods and systems for medical and surgical illumination systems, including methods and systems in which a semiconductor illumination source is incorporated into a surgical tool to provide controlled illumination of a work area, such as a body cavity.

WO0247541 discloses an obstetrical imaging system mounted on the fingers for enhancing digital pelvic examination and other obstetric procedures observed with a video endoscope. An obstetrical imaging system incorporating a fetal vacuum extractor is described which uses tissue transmission illumination to assist in placing the vacuum extractor in the correct position on the fetal head during delivery. A rigid, articulatable hysteroscope is described using a transparent inflatable balloon.

DE202004002963 discloses an illumination element for a surgical instrument with a connecting device for forming a removable fastening connection for the illumination element on the instrument. A housing divides the front and rear chambers. The front chamber has white light diodes protruding outward through holes on the front side. The lighting element is connected with the cable, and the voltage source is arranged on the outer side of the lighting element and is a button battery. The connecting device has a clamping strip.

In US2005090851 an assembly is described comprising a tattoo apparatus, a handle attached to the tattoo apparatus, and an illumination assembly using Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) within the handle. The assembly further includes a power source, a power cord for connecting the tattoo apparatus to the power source, and two alligator clips conductively connected to the power cord or tattoo machine, which transmit electricity to the illumination assembly via electrical wires extending from the illumination assembly to the alligator clips.

Illumination in the surgical field has thus led to the proposal of a variety of illumination devices for mounting or attaching to surgical instruments by different attachment means, illumination or other power sources, to other devices and apparatuses present in the operating room or already present in the surgical field, to the surgeon itself, for example directly to the forehead or to the fingers, or even directly to the patient. However, these solutions do not respond to the following lighting requirements in the surgical field: i.e., using extremely accurate positioning light near the precise area where the surgeon is performing the procedure using a device that can be easily and quickly attached to different surgical instruments at one time at the same time during the procedure.

Object of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a small, easily movable lighting fixture that provides extremely localized light close to the precise area that the surgeon is operating on, and where the fixture can be easily and quickly attached to a variety of surgical instruments, one at a time, during the procedure.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lighting fixture that can be used to retrieve or attract metal objects within a surgical pouch.

Summary of The Invention

In its most basic embodiment, the lighting fixture according to the present invention comprises the following components: the illumination apparatus comprises a light source, an energy supply source, some connecting means between the two components of the light source and the energy supply source, a housing shell and at least some magnetic attachment means capable of securing the illumination apparatus to several different surgical instruments one at a time.

The light source may be any suitable light source as long as it supplies the required luminosity and is small enough that it can be accommodated within the housing according to the invention. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the light source is one that emits very little heat when in use, but emits a light intensity equal to or exceeding 10,000 millicandles (mCD). In a particularly preferred embodiment, the light source is a Light Emitting Diode (LED).

The light source is housed in one end of a specially designed housing. The housing may take a variety of different forms and shapes, provided that the housing has at least one opening through which light emitted from the light source may pass out of the housing. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the housing shell comprises a substantially conical two-piece assembly hollow body with parallel flat ends. The housing is divided into two parts as is well known in the art of housing molding.

An attachment flap (attachment flap) is connected to the body, which itself projects along an imaginary line tangential to a point on the periphery of the body. The body and the attachment wings are shaped together like the letter b when viewed from the front. The attachment flap may be a separate component that is removably or permanently secured to the main body, or in a particularly preferred embodiment, may be a unitary component that is molded with one of the two halves of the main body.

All edges of the shell are rounded so as not to scratch or tear any tissue within the body during surgery.

As mentioned, the substantially conical body must be hollow in order to accommodate all or part of the light source and the energy supply source and the respective connection means. The body of the housing has an inner wall and an outer shell in view of its hollow nature. Inside the hollow body, and near said open end for the passage of light, the inner wall of said body has several small seats specifically configured to fix and clamp the light source in position and to prevent the light source from moving from the inside of the casing. The light emitting end of the light source is naturally directed outwardly just beyond the open end of the housing so that light can shine out of the housing. Each side of the two-piece assembly of the body has some connection means that allow them to be fitted together. Such as is customary in such arrangements, the attachment means may be provided by small projections on the inner wall of one half of the body being inserted into corresponding apertures on the other half of the body.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, in which the light source is connected to an external energy supply source, the housing also has a second, smaller opening on the opposite end with respect to the main open end. Said smaller opening is necessary for the passage of the connection means connecting the light source to the external energy supply source.

The housing according to the invention is preferably made of a moldable and relatively hard and durable material. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the material must also be considered medically appropriate, lightweight, and easy to clean and sterilize if necessary. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the housing shell is made of some type of plastic, such as polyurethane. In another, not particularly preferred embodiment, the housing shell is made of a medically suitable metal or metal alloy.

The illumination apparatus according to the present invention has at least one attachment means that allows the housing of the apparatus to be easily secured to and removed from a surgical instrument. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the shell has three or more attachment means fixed to the shell of the shell or to the side of the wing itself projecting outwards from the main body of said shell. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, these attachment means are small disc magnets fixed to the attachment wings of the housing. The method of securing the attachment means to the shell or wings of the housing body may take various forms. For example, the attachment means may be embedded on the outer surface or snap into some purpose-built recess on the outer surface. Alternatively, the attachment means may be glued or held in its place by using some other fixing means, such as clips, pins, etc., all of which are well known in the state of the art.

The attachment means according to the invention is ideally a magnet, since the magnetic properties of the magnet make it easy to attach to and remove from surgical instruments, most of which are metallic. These same magnetic properties also facilitate the attraction and removal of small metal objects, such as needles that are typically dropped during surgery. As is also well known to those skilled in the art, the presence of several magnets and additionally passing an electric current through them transfers the magnetic properties to other metal objects in contact with them. Thus, when the illumination apparatus of the present invention is magnetically attached to a metal surgical instrument, and current is passed through the illumination apparatus, this will result in the actual surgical instrument obtaining certain magnetic properties and thus being suitable for attracting other small metal objects, such as needles.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the open end of the housing near the light source is provided with a transparent cap detachably connected to the housing. The transparent cap may be made of glass or, more preferably, a transparent material that is less brittle, such as a transparent acrylic. The cap may be connected to the open end of the housing in a variety of ways. In a preferred embodiment, the open end of the housing is bounded by a groove or recess extending around the inner periphery of the circular open end of the housing, said groove being adapted to receive the edge of the transparent cap and hold it in a fixed position. In an alternative embodiment, the transparent cap is a threaded cup-shaped cap that can be snapped into place or alternatively screwed into a corresponding internal thread at the open end of the housing. The manner in which the transparent cap is secured to the housing may assume other configurations, all of which are known methods and need not be explained. The essential characteristics that the transparent cap must have are durability and rigidity so that the cap does not crack and break during use. The cap as a whole must be transparent so as not to obstruct the passage of light. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the surface of the transparent cap does not change the direction of the light rays emitted from the light source. However, other alternative embodiments of caps foreseen as concave or convex are also considered to be comprised in the present invention.

The essential feature of the transparent cap is that it should sealingly close the open end of the luminaire housing so as not to allow any substance to enter into said housing. If this occurs, this may affect not only the emission of light, but also the full operation of the appliance.

As mentioned above, in embodiments of the invention in which there is an external power supply, the end of the housing opposite the open end housing the light source may also have a small opening to allow the connection means to pass from the interior of the housing to the exterior. The connection means consist of electrical wiring which connects the light source to the energy supply source and thus transfers energy from one element to the other. For safety purposes, the power delivered through the wiring should be low voltage so as not to put the patient in any way or risk the surgeon operating the instrument. The advantage of low voltage electrical energy is that a lighting fixture is provided having an unlimited and continuous supply of electrical power (and thus the light does not weaken or stop). The connection means between the light source and the energy supply source may also have a switch which may allow or prevent current to flow through the connection means.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the appliance housing does not have a small rear opening and is designed to carry one or more batteries that provide the power required by the light source. This embodiment is advantageous over the previous in that it provides greater flexibility and can be used in emergency surgery where there is no power outlet available. One such situation is emergency surgery in a war zone or disaster relief.

Whether the lighting fixture of the present invention is battery operated or powered by electricity from the power grid, either option is fully feasible in the case of medical instruments, and in fact, these energy supply methods are fully adequate for many existing medical instruments.

The present invention is much superior to the state of the art. First, the lighting fixture provides a very localized and concentrated light source very close to the area targeted by the surgeon. Because the light source is placed very close to the tip of the surgical instrument being operated by the surgeon, there is virtually no object that can obstruct and prevent the passage of light and thus cause shadows. The localized light provided by the apparatus of the present invention does not mean that other light sources are not required in the operating room to provide good overall illumination. However, the present instrument means that it is no longer necessary to continuously move the dome light or that the surgeon need move his head or neck in order to redirect his head light, as is common in current surgery. The fact that the illumination apparatus is secured to the surgical instrument being operated by the surgeon means that the light source of the present apparatus will provide very localized illumination of cavities and recesses within the human body that are normally dark and difficult to see with the light provided by conventional illumination techniques. The localized illumination provided by the inventive apparatus also has teaching and learning advantages, since with the additional light, the surgeon is able to more clearly see the shape of the body part he is operating on and thus operate with greater confidence and reliability.

A second major advantage of the present invention over the prior art is the flexibility, adaptability and user-friendliness of the appliance. The instrument according to the invention is practically mobile and can be adapted to standard existing surgical instruments. While the prior art has centered around the manufacture of specially designed surgical instruments, the present invention allows the surgeon to easily magnetically attach the illumination apparatus to a particular surgical instrument he is about to use by using a magnet as an attachment means secured to the housing of the apparatus. The surgeon may also change and adjust the angle of the light by repositioning the illumination apparatus on the instrument. For example, if the surgeon needs a stronger light over a certain area, he can easily slide the instrument along the surface of the surgical instrument so that the light source is closer to the target area. This results in greater control and improvement over existing surgical techniques. When the surgeon switches the instrument, he can easily remove the illumination apparatus and magnetically reattach it to another instrument, and so on. The ability of the surgeon to make these changes himself rather than rely on others also results in a simplification of the procedure in the operating room.

The invention is also very cost effective. The speed with which the surgeon can change the lighting fixture from one instrument to another results in the need for fewer assistants around him, which in turn means fewer people in the operating room. With this new approach, surgery also becomes slightly faster because the surgeon can work at a faster rate and with greater control. This also has an impact on surgical costs.

The present appliance itself is very inexpensive because it consists of very few parts, all of which are fairly easy to manufacture or readily available on the market. The low cost of the lighting fixtures is also an advantage, since it opens up the possibility of hospital administration deciding between disinfecting the fixtures for later reuse or, alternatively, choosing to simply discard them after use, in addition to the economic effects given to the hospital.

The adaptability of the lighting fixture in the battery-operated embodiment of the present invention has a greater advantage when used by a surgeon in emergency surgery or in conflict areas where other lighting solutions are not possible or available. In an emergency, the present appliance may even be used without other light sources.

Finally, as already mentioned above, a further advantage of the present invention is that the lighting fixture, when in use, generates a magnetic field useful for attracting and retrieving small metal objects. In fact, this has a greater advantage in the case where it is necessary to retrieve quickly metallic objects, such as needles or scissors, which usually fall into the body cavities and surgical pockets.

It is worth noting that the advantages of the illumination apparatus apply only to outdoor surgery, and the apparatus is not envisaged for other types of surgery.

Brief Description of Drawings

Further features, advantages and details of the attachable lighting fixture according to the invention will become apparent from the following disclosure with reference to the drawings, which show preferred inventive embodiments of the lighting fixture according to the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a lighting fixture of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a top plan view of the same lighting fixture;

FIG. 3 shows a side cross-sectional view of the foregoing lighting fixture;

FIG. 4 shows a front view of the appliance;

FIG. 5 shows a rear view of the appliance;

fig. 6 shows a perspective view of a lighting fixture attached to a pair of surgical scissors.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

A particular embodiment of the invention consists of a lighting fixture designed for surgical use. The lighting fixture comprises a light source (1), in this embodiment the light source (1) is a Light Emitting Diode (LED). The light emitting diode should have an intensity or brightness of at least 10,000 millicandles (mCD). Although other light sources are possible as long as they do not put the patient's health or surgery at risk, LEDs have the advantage of being very small and emitting very little heat, and have the characteristics of excellent long life and durability. The LEDs (1) are connected to a power supply source (2) in a conventional manner. The power supply should ideally be a low voltage current provided by converting the mains current into a lower voltage current (about 3 volts). In this embodiment, the connection between the LED (1) and the power supply (2) is provided by wiring (21) and contacts, as is well known in the field of electrical engineering. Switches may or may not be incorporated in the wiring to make it possible to turn on and off the LEDs. The wiring should be connected to a transformer (not shown) which steps down the voltage of the grid current. The wiring (21) connecting the LED (1) and the power supply source (2) passes from the inside of the housing (3) and to the outside through a small opening (32) on the end of the housing opposite the open end designed for the passage of light. The small opening (32) is just large enough to allow the wiring (21) to pass there through, and it also includes a seal (not shown) that prevents liquid substances from entering the housing (3). The option for connection of the grid is that this solution provides an unlimited and continuous power supply, while other options, such as battery operated appliances, have some drawbacks as described above. In addition, many modern surgical instruments today are electrical and connected to a power grid supply, which means that surgeons are familiar with the operations and logistics involved therein.

The LED (1) is mounted in a specially designed housing (3) having an inner wall and an outer shell. In this particular example, the housing is a molded part made of a light metal alloy or polyurethane. The truncated cone shaped housing (3) comprises a hollow body (6), the hollow body (6) being divided into two halves, as commonly practiced in the art. The body (6) also has a substantially rectangular wing (7), the wing (7) itself projecting along an imaginary line tangential with respect to a point on the periphery of the body. The body and the attachment wings are shaped together like the letter b when viewed from the front. The attachment flap may be a separate component that is removably or permanently secured to the body, or in a particularly preferred embodiment, may be a unitary component that is molded with one of the two halves of the body.

All housing surfaces are smooth and edgeless to render the lighting fixture harmless when in use. The absence of corners and edges means that the lighting device does not risk liability for human tissue being scratched or torn.

The end of the hollow body (6) having the largest circumference is the open end (4) designed to accommodate the LED (1). As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the LEDs must be placed and secured within the housing with the end that emits light facing outwardly toward the open end (4) of the housing (3), thus allowing the emitted light to shine out of the housing in an unobstructed manner. The LED is fixed in its position within the housing by the configuration of the inner wall of the housing. The inner wall includes smaller walls perpendicular to the major surface of the inner wall that are designed to clip the LED into place.

In this desirable embodiment, the open end (4) of the housing (3) has a cup-shaped cap (9) made of transparent acrylic resin. The cap (9) may be removably secured to the open end (4) of the housing (3) by snap-fitting the cap (9) into an internal annular groove (not shown) made along the inner periphery near the boundary of the open end (4), the circumference of the cap being substantially the same as the circumference of the open end (4), and the open end (4) being slightly flexible so as to allow the cap (9) to be snapped into place by applying a certain pressure. Other solutions are possible, such as screwing a cap onto corresponding threads on the open end. The purpose of said cap (9) is to close the open end (4) of the housing in a sealable manner and to prevent the passage of any substance, such as blood. The cap (9) protects the LED (1) and the interior hollow region of the housing (3), which in turn makes the appliance more hygienic and easy to clean. The use of a cap (9) also makes it possible to clean the surface of the cap (9) in case some substance prevents or hinders the passage of light.

In this preferred embodiment of the invention, the body (6) of the housing (3) is approximately 86mm in length and 11mm in width, and approximately 7mm in thickness at its thickest part. The body (6) of the housing (3) also has wings (7) projecting therefrom, as described above. The wings (7) are substantially rectangular, although for the reasons also explained above they have rounded edges. In a particularly desirable embodiment, the wing (7) has a length of approximately 86mm, a width of approximately 11mm and a thickness of approximately 2 mm. The two largest surfaces of the wing (7) are the top and bottom surfaces, the bottom surface (aa) being, for the purposes of the present description, a surface tangential to the periphery of the substantially circular body of the casing. The top surface is the opposite surface (bb).

The top surface (bb) of the wing (7) has three circular recesses placed equidistant from each other along the longitudinal axis of said rectangular top surface (bb) of the wing (7). In this particularly desirable embodiment, the diameter of the recess is approximately 5mm and the depth is approximately 1.5 mm. In these said recesses, three disc-shaped magnets (5) are placed and fixed therein. The magnet (5) can be fixed in these recesses in many ways known to the person skilled in the art. These include snapping into the recess and being maintained therein by the pressure due to the design of the recess. Alternatively, the magnet (5) may be glued to the recess or fixed by means of some other fixing means. The only requirement of the way by which the magnets (5) are fixed is that they must hold the magnets (2) in their position on the outer top surfaces (bb) of the wings (7). The housing of the housing (3) may also have some recesses and magnets (not shown) so that, in general, the entire instrument can be magnetically attached to the surgical instrument.

Magnets (5) fixed to the top surfaces (bb) of the wings (7) and the shell of the casing (3) attract metal objects made of iron, steel, aluminum, etc. due to their magnetic properties. Thus, they are the preferred attachment means by which illumination apparatus can be removably attached to various metal surgical instruments during a surgical procedure. The magnet (5) must be strong enough to ensure that the illumination apparatus does not fall off during normal use, but not so strong that it prevents the surgeon from being able to move the illumination apparatus over the surgical instrument, if necessary. The ability to move the illumination apparatus is necessary to allow the surgeon to redirect the light emitted from the apparatus and to bring the apparatus closer to or further away from the target area. The presence of a magnet (5) on the illumination apparatus enables the surgeon to transfer the apparatus from one surgical instrument to another within a few seconds and without much effort. He can also attach it to any existing surgical instrument without requiring specially designed instruments.

Since the lighting fixture is made of a lightweight metal alloy or plastic material, the weight of the fixture in the design contemplated by the preferred embodiment is approximately 3.5 grams. This weight does not in any way affect the normal operation of the surgical instruments by the surgeon using them.

The above description of preferred embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of protection in any way, which is defined only by the appended claims.

Claims (14)

1. An illumination apparatus for a surgical instrument, comprising:

a light source (1);

a power supply source (2);

-a wire connection device (21) for connecting the light source (1) to the power supply source (2) and for supplying electrical energy from the power supply source (2) to the light source (1);

-a housing (3) having an inner wall and an outer shell for receiving and protecting the light source (1) and a part or all of the power supply source (2), the lighting fixture being characterized in that the housing (3) has at least one open end (4), the at least one open end (4) allowing light to pass through, at least one attachment means (5) provided with magnetic properties and fixed to the outer shell of the housing (3) allowing the housing (3) to be removably attached to different metal surgical instruments during surgery, the hollow body (6) is divided into two parts, and when assembled the hollow body (6) has substantially a truncated cone shape with two parallel flat ends of different cross-section, the body (6) further comprises wings (7), the wings (7) have substantially rectangular bottom and top plane surfaces, the wings (7) projecting themselves along an imaginary line tangential with respect to a point on the periphery of the body (6).

2. The lighting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main body (6) has two parallel flat ends of different cross-section, one of which having the largest cross-section is the open end (4) designed to receive the light source (1), and the other of which having the smaller cross-section is designed to receive all or part of the power supply source (2).

3. The lighting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the open end (4) has a transparent cap (9), the cap (9) being detachably fitted into the open end (4) so as to hermetically close the open end (4) without obstructing passage of light emitted from the light source.

4. The lighting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one attachment means (5) is embedded or snapped onto the top surface of the wings (7) or onto the housing of the housing (3).

5. The lighting apparatus as defined in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the housing (3) has three or more of the attachment means (5).

6. The lighting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the attachment means (5) is a magnet.

7. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light source (1) has an intensity of at least 10,000 millicandles (mCD).

8. The lighting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the light source (1) is a Light Emitting Diode (LED).

9. A lighting fixture as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the power supply source (2) is one or more batteries or a low current power provided by a power grid.

10. The lighting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the housing (3) is made of plastic, metal or metal alloy suitable for medical use.

11. A lighting device as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the device weighs less than 3.5 grams.

12. The illumination apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the entire outer shell of the housing (3) and the wings (7) is smooth and made of magnetic metal or metal alloy which allows the housing to be detachably fixed to several surgical instruments during surgery and to attract other metallic objects within the human body being operated on by magnetic forces.

13. A lighting fixture as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the body (6) of the housing (3) has a length of approximately 86mm, a width of approximately 11mm and a thickness of approximately 7mm at its thickest part.

14. The lighting apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the wing has a length of 86mm, a width of 11mm, a thickness of 2mm, and has three circular recesses positioned equidistant from each other along a longitudinal axis of the rectangular top surface of the wing, the recesses having a diameter of approximately 5mm and a depth of approximately 1.5 mm.