This report originally appeared in the August 2009 issue of DOTmed Business News

The surgeon may be the most important piece of the puzzle in an operating room, but don't discount the role overhead lights play in the procedure. After all, a doctor needs to be able to see in order to do the job. The body is full of tiny intricacies and anything helping a surgeon maneuver more accurately is always welcomed help.

O/R lights can be ceiling or wall mounted, recessed or mobile. The basic design of O/R lights combines the electrical source with a ring for commutators, or rotary switching devices, that are part of the mechanism to maintain contact while the light is swiveled.
For nearly 80 years, halogen lights were traditionally used for surgical lighting, but all that changed when Light Emitting Diodes (LED) lights came to market a few years ago. Companies like Stryker, Steris, Berchtold and Amsco quickly realized that hospitals would be demanding the new technology and started shifting their focus towards them.




"Technology is rapidly moving from halogen, which was very good technology with high intensity brightness, good quality lighting and at the time of the predecessor, extended bulb life," says Randy Tomaszewski, Vice President of Marketing for Skytron. "Ours lasted up to 5,000 hours. Now we've moved on to LED technologies and they are even greater in terms of the advantage of high intensity with extended life."

In fact, in most operating rooms, you can go 10 to 15 years without ever having to change the LED bulbs and by the time they are ready to be replaced, you might be looking to replace the entire fixture.

"More people are getting experienced with them and there are a couple of advantages with using them," says Bob Mighell, President of World Medical Equipment. "You don't have to worry about a light burning out in a surgery, so technically your bulb life is a lot longer and they run a lot cooler. LED lights just don't put out any heat."

The migration to LED is a once-in-a-century transformation for the industry. LED surgical lighting uses less energy and emits less heat, which makes it safer for the patient and more comfortable for the surgical staff. In addition, LED sources generate a very pure white light that is ideal for a surgical setting.

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