A Medical Sonic Screwdriver

[gp4hire]

Hello all! (First post so be gentle!)

Quick bit of a background, I'm a GP (family physician for my American chums) and as real life doctor as opposed to a fake Time Lord one (pah!) I thought it would be rather cool and would amuse/freak out my younger patients to convert a sonic screwdriver into something that I could use at work.

To this end I intend to convert a sonic screwdriver into a throat illuminator (aka a torch for looking into throats). As far as I am aware no-one has yet done this. I've got hold of a series 11 and 10 SS and the series 10 looks considerably easier to convert.

Basically a throat illuminator is a torch (duh) but the better ones use white LEDs to give an even coloration (normal bulbs give a slight yellow tinge). So it should simply be a case of swapping a series 10 SS LED for a bright white one. I'll need to swap the blue bit at then end for a clear acrylic cabochon also.

I'm using the light and sound sonic screwdriver as a sonic without sound is like a broken pencil (pointless :rolleyes)
I've just taken a few pics of a dissembled SS for everyone to look at (try as I might I couldn't find decent pics of one anywhere). I'll upload them in a sec...

Once I've got the light swapped I think I'll stick a USB memory stick in the other end.

I've got some ideas for tarting up a series 11 one too but I'll discuss that later.

 

[gp4hire]

Ok, hopefully I've added these links correctly...

Pic of disassembled sonic screwdriver (series 10)
Fully disassembled series 10 Sonic Screwdriver | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


Close view of the LED and speaker
Close up sonic screwdriver | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Other pics so far
Flickr: gpforhire's Photostream

Not used flickr before so I hope I got the public settings right


The screwdriver uses 3 LR 44 button cell batteries 1.5v each - total 4.5v. Not sure how much juice is driving the LED - have a multimeter so I'll check it out (once I figure out how to work it!).

 

[Capt MarVell]

Hi, neat idea. Are the batteries connected to the LED through a resistor or directly connected? If directly connected, then find an LED that runs on 4.5V. Otherwise, find a white LED in the less than 4.5V range, find its current draw, and using Ohms Law you can determine the necessary resistor. Subtract the required voltage of the new LED from 4.5, divide by the current required by the LED in Amps and there is your resistor value in ohms. R=E/I (R=resistance in ohms, E=voltage drop in volts, I=current in amps). Just get close with the resistor value, you don't really need to be exact.

Jim

 

[VelaNoon]

A sonic throat iluminator sounds really cool A sonic syringe would be something completely different. It would probably just freak out the kids

 

[gp4hire]

Thanks for the advice so far, should be getting some ultra bright LEDS delivered tomorrow so will swap it over tomorrow night. Just need to replace the blue bit at the end after that.

I was thinking of replacing the blue strip halfway down with an EL light or a row of blue SMD LEDs but I don't think I'll be able to squeeze an extra couple of batteries into there.

Now the 11th Dr Sonic is quite different and a lot bigger. I am thinking about replacing the green transparent tube near the end with a clear acrylic rod that lights up green when the sonic is extended and clicks open.

I've found a cool tiny chaser circuit that I might possibly be able to squeeze in to the 11th Drs sonic aswell- Tiny Cylon Circuit (I'll have to replace the LEDs with SMDs to try and keep it tiny as possible)

Any other ideas for making a sonic a bit more flashy? - (of course its not strictly Dr Who )

I did wonder if I could squeeze an ear thermometer into a Star Trek Phaser bit I think the patients (and their parents) might get a bit alarmed if a doctor holds a gun to the childs head saying he is going to take their temperature!:eek

 

[Interceptor6]

How about a mini lightsaber hilt on a rectal thermometer?

 

[SJason]

ah, you're lucky you got such a clean break(parts separation), hehe...and from checking, the voltages on white and blue LEDs are the same, so should be fine to just interchange them.
as for adding a chaser circuit - only trouble really is likely having to add extra batteries, if it is going to remain an extendable sonic - the circuits would most likely have to be separate, or else a lot of work figuring out how to add slider bars internally to share power.

 

[gp4hire]

Well its finished, well sort of. Its missing a cap over the light and the plastic is a bit raggedy. Below is a link to my flickr photostream that shows how I did it.

Medical Sonic Screwdriver - a set on Flickr

Whats the best sort of modelling putty/clay to use to repair the dents? I'll stick a clear acrylic cabochon on the end I think, unless I can think of something else.

Is there a metallic tape I can use to make the end look a bit more, well, metallic or is my best bet to use a paint effect? Any advice welcome!

So that's my first "Sonic throat illuminator". Just need a patient to test it on...

 

[SJason]

I haven't figured out what putty or such to use - I sorta gave up on modding the plastic ones...I really want a metal one to work with, heh...
and as for paint, I imagine some car touch up something - my wife got me a little bottle of it, but I haven't tried it yet, but looks like it'd work.
heh, thinking...careful perhaps what cabochon to put on top, and how well it is glued, so it doesn't slip off somehow and fall down someone's throat...

 

[Mr.Engineer]

Wow. That was impressive! I was about to say, use a 47Ohm 1/8 watt resistor but since its done, I'll just keep quiet.

But for a chaser circuit, it can be done since the 4.5 volts can power up a PIC chip. The only problem would be where to squeeze the circuit. I am thinking about hollowing the whole ballpoint-pen part. I did this for fun years ago:

And here is the full but not completed page:
http://www.chowfookcheong.com/Medical%20Scanner/Medical%20Scanner.htm

 

[gp4hire]

Kinda giving up on put a chaser light in it as I very much doubt I can make the circuit small enough to fit + the power source.

Been measuring up the 11th Docs sonic and I think there is room to put in a small quartz crystal and a slow change RGB LED near the emitter tip (there is a green chamber that the wires go though). Sadly I cannot get the emitter tip off without cutting it - might replace that with a clear crystal too?

The idea is to have the colour change LED automatically come on when the claw section pops open - fairly easy wiring. It should look rather cool but I may have to replace the green chamber with a clear acrylic tube so it can be seen better. There is enough room in the spring bit in the hilt to fit a in a 3v lithium CR927 to power the LED.

I'll post some pics soon with full detailed measurements in case anyone else wants to have a go at modding the new sonic. Might be a week or so as I am moving house!

 

[Mr.Engineer]

Well, if you want I can get some 5mm RGB LEDs which changes colour by itself without any microprocessor. But you can't modify the 'timing' or speed in it since its all sealed into one LED.

If you can, please take some pics of the 11th Sonic (opened) and lets see what can be done...

 

[gp4hire]

Cheers for that but I was going to buy some 3mm RGB LEDs via ebay - they are a bit smaller and will give me more room for a crystal.

Most of my drills and such like have been packed away now ready for the big move but once we get to the new house I'll fully tear down an 11th sonic (including the hilt) add measurements and upload the pics...

 

[SJason]

yeah, I'd like to see the inside of an 11th also...(only have the 10th, heh)
Also, my wife likes programming color change patterns, and we've got some chips that are about 4-5mm square.
As for the chaser - one thing depends on how many lights you want chasing - I prefer 10-12...though, if its up to 6 i think, one can use the same 8pin micro...or wait, i forget if there is some trick to making it go up to 10 or 12, even if it has less pins, heh...haven't dealt with it in months. but then, other than the battery-control issue, the chip can fit all kinds of places.