by
Olga Deshchenko, DOTmed News Reporter | August 23, 2011
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's TruLight ALC Plus
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.
