Abstract: A blood vessel clamp has a pair of arms (2,4) each supporting a respective jaw (8,12). The arms are pivotally interconnected by a box joint (26) formed by an intermediate portion (22) of one arm (2) extending through a slot in an intermediate portion of the other arm (4) and imprisoned therein by a pivot pin (28). The internal wall of the slot is provided with a protrusion (30) at a location remote from the pin (28) such that as a part (32) of the intermediate arm (22) enters the slot during the last stages of closure of the jaws (8, 12) it engages the protrusion (30) and forces the opposite walls of the slot apart against their own resilience. This creates an increase stiffness in the joint (26) so that the jaws will remain in any desired position until a predetermined force is applied to over the stiffness whereupon they can be moved to a new position.

Abstract: Port wine stain treatment apparatus includes a pad supporting a plurality of diamond tipped needles. The tip of each needle is supplied with laser radiation and the tip acts to scatter laser radiation sideways. Thus, when the pad is applied to the skin, the tips penetrate the skin and when laser radiation is supplied the tips create a laminar radiation profile located below and spaced from the skin surface. In this manner, the cause of the port wine stain can be treated without the danger of disfiguring or scarring the skin surface above the stain.

Abstract: The apparatus includes an endless belt of nickel having a surface profile comprising an array of cavities such that any liquid layer deposited on the surface is keyed into the surface and constrained against movement relative to the surface. A liquid comprising solute and solvent is deposited as a layer on the belt from a nozzle. A first heater evaporates the solvent but leaves the solute. A second heater evaporates the solute which is then collected and fed to an analyzing device. The profile of the belt is particularly conducive to constraining a liquid on the belt and ensuring uniform evaporation upon heating.

Abstract: A pair of forceps has a shank and a pair of resilient arms. A groove, running along the inner face of each arm and communicating with a channel in the shank, accommodates a fiber optic cable which provides illumination at the tip of the forceps for items handled by the forceps. The use of the forceps is particularly suitable for manipulating an artificial lens in a human eye because the surface of the lens is illuminated to make it stand out against the liquid of the eye which has substantially the same refractive index as the lens.

Abstract: A surgical knife includes a handle supporting a diamond blade. An Nd/YAG laser is optically coupled by a bundle of optical fibres to the blade. The arrangement enables the blade to cauterize tissue being incised by the knife. The selection of the material of the blade and the laser provides a laser knife of extended useful life. The heating of the diamond blade by the laser provides the blade with an unexpectedly increased cutting and cauterizing performance.

Abstract: A stent for a cardiac valve comprises a metal base ring having metal legs projecting therefrom in a generally axial direction, each leg being flexible in such a manner that, when the stent has a valve installed therein and the valve is under pressure such as when operating in the heart, each respective leg can resiliently deform over substantially its whole axial length to take up strain in the valve without impairing its performance.