Video observation of a patient's face during a medical procedure while the patient is in a prone position

摘要

Apparatus that allows at least one feature of a patient's face to be observed while the patient is in a prone position includes a facial cushion (10), a video camera (11) and a monitor (12). The facial cushion provides cranial support for a patient in a prone position during a medical procedure. The cushion has a frontal aperture (20) that is dimensioned so that the facial feature of a patient wearing the facial cushion and in a prone position are visible through the at least one aperture. The video camera has a lens (14) disposed for providing a sequence of video signals representing sequential images of the facial features that are visible through the frontal aperture. The monitor is coupled to the video camera for enabling the images of the at least one facial feature to be monitored. The images are monitored by a video monitor and/or a computer (37).