# Best headlamp for surgery...?



## DemonDan (May 2, 2010)

I know this question has been asked before - but I couldn't find any recent discussions. 

There's an excellent description of the characteristics of such a light over at "Magos Biologis Philippinensis" blog: http://magos-biologis.blogspot.com/2010/01/surgical-grade-headlamp-versus-ordinary.html



> * Spill. A hiker, spelunker or whatever uses both his peripheral vision as well as being focused on what is ahead. This is why most flashlights and headlights, aside from the bright spot, also have a lot of light that spills over. A surgeon does not use his peripheral vision much. If he is using loupes, he cant use his peripheral vision becuase he is totally concentrated on what is within the field of view of the loupe. The ideal surgical headlamp must have a very concentrated cone of light focused a handlength away, with little or no spill. Spilled light just wastes energy.
> 
> * Comfort. A surgical headlight must be utterly comfortable. I've used headlights that cause headaches when used for a long time unless you move it around. Surgeons can be wearing the headlight for hours so it has to be utterly comfortable. A surgeon cannot adjust the headlight by himself because he is sterile so there better be no pressure points that can cause pain and skin ulcers.
> 
> ...



I think the main requirements are a tight beam, smoothly variable (non-ratcheted) angle adjustment and, ideally, an external/rechargeable battery pack.

Any suggestions from the current crop?

Dan.


----------



## TKC (May 2, 2010)

*A surgeon does NOT EVER turn on his own head light during surgery.He can't, because when he is gowned and gloved the surgeon is sterile, the plug to the head lamp hangs off the back of his gown, and the nurse plugs that into the unsterile light box. He wears one that is plugged in, and the nurse turns it on. What is used in surgery is a head light that IS plugged in. I know, as I AM a surgical Technologist.*


----------



## Chauncey Gardner (May 2, 2010)

Is this going to be a Zombie Apocalypse type operating situation?

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/273587

Or are you just looking for a more tightly focused headlamp?


----------



## electrothump (May 2, 2010)

Are you a coroner?

DN


----------



## LittleBill (May 2, 2010)

please let me know what hospital you work at so i can avoid it at all costs


----------



## Burgess (May 2, 2010)

_


----------



## RlxdN10sity (May 3, 2010)

TKC said:


> *A surgeon does NOT EVER turn on his own head light during surgery.He can't, because when he is gowned and gloved the surgeon is sterile, the plug to the head lamp hangs off the back of his gown, and the nurse plugs that into the unsterile light box. He wears one that is plugged in, and the nurse turns it on. What is used in surgery is a head light that IS plugged in. I know, as I AM a surgical Technologist.*



So what make and model head lamps do surgeons use?


----------



## mossyoak (May 3, 2010)

I'd bet Welch Allyn makes them


----------



## RlxdN10sity (May 3, 2010)

mossyoak said:


> I'd bet Welch Allyn makes them



You are correct. The ones they offer are apparently fiber optic. Light source sits on a table or whatever and a fiber connector delivers light to the head lamp lens and whalaa!


----------



## DemonDan (May 5, 2010)

TKC said:


> *A surgeon does NOT EVER turn on his own head light during surgery. I know, as I AM a surgical Technologist.*


I know as I am a SURGEON. On my hospital they are typically set-up and adjusted before scrubbing in - and then any fine adjustments are made by nurses/technicians in the OR. There would never be a need to turn it on and off during the procedure. The benefit of an external battery pack is that if it's kept in the back pocket, it can be swapped out if needed.



electrothump said:


> Are you a coroner?


No - but they too might find such a light useful.



LittleBill said:


> please let me know what hospital you work at so i can avoid it at all costs


Unless you have 4 legs and a wet nose you're unlikely to end up on my operating table. As well as having more legs, my patients typically have more intelligence than you. OK - before you go off on one, just calm down - it's not your fault...



RlxdN10sity said:


> So what make and model head lamps do surgeons use?


Depends on the type of surgeon (medical, dental, veterinary), the situation (in the OR or in the field, wearing loupes or not etc), the procedure, personal preference.... My hospital has some of these:
http://www.designsforvision.com/DentHtml/DentLite.htm
but other examples include these:
http://www.dentistrytoday.net/ME2/d...91&tier=4&id=4AD8807EB48645F48259FBA3D8D154C0
As someone mentioned, there are also varieties with an external light source.

Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions to answer my original question I'd be really grateful.

Thanks everybody! Especially you LittleBill 

Dan.


----------



## Shorty66 (May 5, 2010)

> Unless you have 4 legs and a wet nose you're unlikely to end up on my operating table. As well as having more legs, my patients typically have more intelligence than you. OK - before you go off on one, just calm down - it's not your fault...


----------



## electrothump (May 6, 2010)

Ahhhh, got a little moxie working here. Way to hang!

DN


----------



## Appleonius (May 6, 2010)

What kind of loupes do you have if any? What's the mag? 
As a dental student, i'm about to buy one of 2 products from http://www.lumadent.com/ . I already have a Lenser H7 so I can mod my loupes & mount it or keep it on the headband. But since I already have the loupes, I was thinking about the featherweight complete light system they have. People on DentalTown have had very positive reviews when comparing them to the big company lights. 

if you do have loupes, ppl are reporting that the lenser setup is good for 2.5-3x but you _may_ need a higher output if you have 4-6x.

edit: alternatively, you can buy the cheap DealExtreme knockoff of the H7 for $20 shipped & try that method.


----------



## kitelights (May 7, 2010)

I can't believe that no one has brought up the issue of CRI. The OP's list of 'factors' refers to typical sports type headlamps, 95%+ of which are LED and do a very poor job of allowing you to see tissue color with any accuracy.

There are some newer LEDs that offer real world CRI, but I don't know of anyone using them in production. 

Someone, I think it may have been Don (McGizmo) made some lights with it and while in development, CPF member Baby Doc was a tester and made some favorable comments on it for use in the medical field. 

All of the typical discussions regarding spot, flood, intensity, adjustability, modes, etc., are pretty much a waste of time if you can't identify a nearly accurate color of the tissue that you're working on.

I can imagine that there may be some surgeries that don't require an accurate CRI, but I just can't see taking a chance.


----------



## eatkabab (Jun 29, 2010)

del wrong area


----------



## jackleung (May 5, 2011)

A Cool-view headlamp will be one of the best for surgical ??

http://www.cool-view.com/model-1400-xl





DemonDan said:


> I know this question has been asked before - but I couldn't find any recent discussions.
> 
> There's an excellent description of the characteristics of such a light over at "Magos Biologis Philippinensis" blog: http://magos-biologis.blogspot.com/2010/01/surgical-grade-headlamp-versus-ordinary.html
> 
> ...


----------



## jackleung (May 5, 2011)

kitelights said:


> I can't believe that no one has brought up the issue of CRI. The OP's list of 'factors' refers to typical sports type headlamps, 95%+ of which are LED and do a very poor job of allowing you to see tissue color with any accuracy.
> 
> There are some newer LEDs that offer real world CRI, but I don't know of anyone using them in production.
> 
> ...


 
A good CRI usually in the range of color temperature around 4500-5500K. But now most of the medical surgical headlamp companies are promoting natural sunlight which has at least 5500K- 6500K, therefore they will never get the CRI right. 

Moreover, according to the IEC or FDA regulation, it seems that no standard for the CRI issue yet for surgical headlight.

Agree?


----------



## srfreddy (May 5, 2011)

The highest CCT High CRI led is 4000k or so, the rebel es. It'll be quite some time before the color temps. are up to 5500k.


----------



## Bolster (May 5, 2011)

I'll give a shot at answering the question, without sniping at the OP. As others have said, high CRI would be very desirable. There are high CRI headlamps on the drawing board currently from Zebralight, SureFire, and Spark (I think, or else warm tint, can someone please verify). So my answer would be "Wait a little bit until the high CRIs come out." I'm a flood-o-holic so I don't know the spot world very well, but I would start investigating the Sparks for very bright intense beams. You can begin your research at either of the two threads in my sig line.

Remember that high CRI and tint color are two different animals (no pun intended, doc). High CRI is not a specific tint. Burning embers are high CRI, but way red tint.


----------



## martinharris (Jul 8, 2011)

[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif]The maker of a very good surgical headlights is xenosys. It's very lightweight, has an intense beam and has 4 different intensity settings. The best part about it is that it comes with 2 batteries, so you can use the headlamp and have a 2nd battery charging. This is especially useful during the longer surgical cases.
[/FONT]


----------



## f2f46 (Jul 9, 2011)

The real question is why spend $1500 for a lamp like that when you can spend less than 100 on a zebralight or spark with similar performance? I'm ordering the ZL h51c to see how it does- from what everyone says about it, I have high hopes.


----------



## mossyoak (Jul 10, 2011)

f2f46 said:


> The real question is why spend $1500 for a lamp like that when you can spend less than 100 on a zebralight or spark with similar performance? I'm ordering the ZL h51c to see how it does- from what everyone says about it, I have high hopes.


 
Because its gotta be medical grade. and that high price is because if that light fails and someone dies because of that, theyve got to have capital to defend theirselves.


----------



## f2f46 (Jul 10, 2011)

Nobody dies because of a failed light- people die because of a failure surgeon. 

1. You always have back up equipment in ORs, and it takes just a moment to switch it out if that happens.

2. Because lights arent actually coming in contact with patients, they don't have the same FDA regulatory requirements that other medical devices and equipment have. You can essentially label any light 'medical grade' and sell it as such. I would be willing to bet that there are some lights sold for non-medical uses (eg petzl pro series) that are way more reliable than half the trash that some companies label for medical use. Its up to the docs and hospital to decide what lights are actually worthy.


----------

