Randy Tomaszewski, vice president of marketing for Skytron, says some surgeons still prefer halogen, although market studies show halogen lighting is steadily losing its popularity as more surgeons opt for LED lights.

"Halogen lights are expected to be phased out and replaced by LED lighting in three to five years," he says.


The LED light sources make all the difference in the quality of the light in the O/R. Halogen lights produce light that is on the yellowish side of white, which does not make a huge difference in household lights.




"But we found over the years that in the surgical arena, surgeons preferred light that's a purer white, that is, closer to the bluer side of white," says David Jesurun, engineering manager for Steris Corporation. "So we've always had to put color filters and coatings into our products to adjust that inherent color of the halogen light source. LED sources can address this issue by inherently producing white light that is exactly what surgeons desire," he says.

Industry experts also cite the longevity of LED lights as a key benefit of the technology.

"It has changed the typical experience of nurses and hospital biomeds from having to change a lamp in a surgical light every few months to now not having to change a light source for many, many years," says Jesurun. "This very dramatic increase in lamp life reduces the hassle of lights burning out in the middle of a case or turning them on just before a case to discover that one of them is burned out."

Steve Palmer, director of marketing for Trumpf Medical Systems, says that LED lights can last for approximately 30,000 hours, whereas halogen bulbs can only last about 500 to 1,000 hours. The longer lifespan of LED O/R lights, coupled with the fact that the technology is fairly new, make it difficult to find these products on the used market at this point.

Ben Cowart, co-owner of Lux Surgical, a surgical lights service and sales company, believes LED lights are worth the hype and will soon be available on the refurbished side.

"As any new technology decreases in value rapidly after the honeymoon stage, so will LED lighting. It has already showed a steady decline in initial cost," Cowart wrote in a statement to DOTmed News. "Due to the long-term cost, and energy savings LED lights provide, there is no good reason to purchase halogen. We are moving toward an all LED industry. I have seen a few LED lights already on the refurbished market. We will soon see a flood in the market of lower-priced new LED surgical lights," he said.

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