Minimally invasive procedures are quickly becoming the standard of care in hospitals nationwide, and surgical equipment manufacturers are well aware of the trend.

Many OEMs are enhancing current technology or launching new products to help OR staff perform procedures safer and faster and provide a high level of comfort for the patient.

Here’s a look at some of the latest trends and products in OR tables, lights and microscopes.

In OR tables, versatility is key
The surgical tables market was valued at a little more than $170 million in 2010, according to the recent report, “U.S. Markets for Video and High-Tech Hardware Devices 2011” by the Millennium Research Group.

Low but steady growth in the sector is projected within the next few years, driven by a demand for specialty surgical tables. Manufacturers have come out with tables and accessories to address the specific goals of “increasing productivity, integrating with imaging equipment, and providing pressure management, greater versatility, and/or improved patient safety,” according to the MRG report.

For Trumpf Medical Systems, business has been strong in the OR Systems table sector. The company invested a lot of effort in improving its products’ communication and performance capabilities. It also enhanced the tilt and positioning functionality of its tables, according to Ted Daley, Trumpf’s senior engineer, table systems.

Trumpf recently launched its TruSystem 7500 table in the United States. The table has numerous configuration possibilities and is equipped with quiet, precision motors and an open software architecture.

Another manufacturer Skytron, recently introduced its Elite 6300 surgical table with a fully radiolucent top and a 210-degree top rotation. It’s also equipped with a removable leg section for image flexibility options, including a 40-inch carbon fiber extension.

Bill Wendt, Skytron’s senior product manager, surgical tables, says the 6300 model encompasses many features of high-end surgical tables, but comes with a lower price tag. “It’s an economical table but it still features everything [surgeons] need for the operating room,” says Wendt.




The most recent advanced table product from the Steris Corporation is the company’s 5085 platform. The 5085 SRT Surgical Table is the world’s first “crossover” table. “It slides, rotates and transports patients throughout the perioperative area, controlled by a single caregiver, with help from its unique drive wheel and pivot capability,” Eric Wittine, director of marketing, surgical tables and case goods, told DOTmed News via e-mail.

The 5085 SRT is the first surgical table that’s been cleared for patient transport by the Food and Drug Administration.

In addition to its premium platform, Steris offers the 4085 General Surgical Table, which has been a success for the company “due to its great versatility as a sliding top table,” Wittine said.

In lights, LED leads
In the surgical lights arena, light-emitting diode (LED) lights are continuing their takeover of halogen lights.

Harold Koltnow, senior product manager/lights with Skytron, estimates that about 60 to 70 percent of all new surgical lights sold today are LEDs.

Skytron recently enhanced its Aurora LED Surgical Lights. The lights now have 40 percent greater intensity and double the adjustable spot size. The company's Aurora II lights are also equipped with a selectable color temperature control. Surgeons can choose from bright white (4,000K) or soft white (4,500K), depending on the procedure.

LED lights provide a more natural light and don’t emit heat but they also last much longer than halogens. “LEDs shouldn’t need any kind of attention for over 10 years,” says Koltnow.




Trumpf Medical pioneered LED surgical lights systems about five years ago. And last year, the company released its latest product called TruLight 5520 ALC Plus in the United States. “Customers were looking for a very simple light but one with many features built into it,” explains Steve Palmer, the company’s director of marketing.

The TruLight 5520 ALC Plus is equipped with a low-power laser, an innovation that eliminates the hassle of adjusting the light to illuminate a surgical site throughout the procedure. “As the surgeon maneuvers and positions the light, it automatically optimizes the illumination,” Palmer says.

Trumpf Medical has also recently enhanced its iLED surgical lights, which now have a higher color rendering index (CRI) and better intensity, Palmer says.

According to the MRG report, LED lights will continue to “experience ongoing growth due to continuous adoption and installation of higher-priced LED lighting systems within hospital ORs."

Although many ambulatory surgery centers are still using halogen lights, they are expected to soon switch over to LEDs, especially as the technology becomes more affordable, according to the report.

Microscopes: seeing more
The trend of minimally invasive surgery is also positively impacting the surgical microscopy business.

Emphasis on evidence-based medicine and the growing number of procedures performed at ambulatory surgery centers are contributing to the adoption of the latest innovations in this sector, according to Dirk Brunner, vice president of microsurgery and sales operations with Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.




In April, Carl Zeiss launched the Pentero 900, the company’s next generation surgical microscope. The new system includes a fully integrated HD video camera, integrated HD recording and a larger touchscreen display for viewing.

The company also upgraded some of the fluorescence options on the Pentero 900 and introduced a brand new module – the Yellow 560.

The Yellow 560 option is the first Carl Zeiss fluorescence module that enables users to highlight fluorescently-stained structures while viewing the surrounding tissue in natural color. The module visualizes fluorescence in the 540 to 690 nm wavelength range to support research applications.

Yellow 560 joins Blue 400, Infrared 800 and Flow 800 as fluorescence modules available for the microscope. “Many of our fluorescent technologies are continuing to see strong adoption and expansion,” Brunner says.

In addition to the latest fluorescence modules and integrated HD video, customers are also interested in expanding the connectivity within and beyond the operating room.

According to Brunner, hospitals and outpatient surgery centers alike are looking to better integrate medical devices like surgical microscopes with picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) and other medical data management systems. The Pentero 900’s DICOM module enables it to connect with a hospital or clinic’s data infrastructure, allowing surgeons to access pre-operative data from the OR.