In operating rooms, getting the right equipment is the primary determinant of success in operations. While most hospitals will focus on surgical instruments like forceps, blades, scissors, and dressing material, they often forget one thing that will make a significant difference in the outcome of surgeries. This is lighting. Though the human eye is well-adapted to natural light, the operating theatre is a controlled environment. It thus might be mostly impossible to maximize natural lighting will large windows like in other rooms.
Surgical lights for sale should thus not miss from your inventory list. These are the only choices you have for maximizing the visibility in your operating room to guarantee a successful operation and maximize the safety of your staff. Though a few theatres still use incandescent lighting, most use the LED {light emitting diode} technology. LED lights are more durable, energy-efficient, brighter, and accurate than other lighting technologies. Here are the specifications that should inform your choice of the LED lights you purchase for your theatre.
Illuminance
This denotes the light output of your bulbs. The numbers on your surgical lights for illuminance indicate how much light will fall on an area per square meter. LED Lights for operating rooms generally have light output levels of 40000-160000 lux. This is quite bright when contrasted to the recommended light output level of 300 for reading in consultation rooms and 1000 lux for examination lights.
Colour Temperature
This measures the colour of your light bulb relative to another ideal light source. The colour temperature of daylight is often about 5800k. Surgical lights, on the other hand, have ratings of between 3000-6700k. This rating will, however, change depending on the colour of your surgical bulbs. Warm colours like reds and yellows will have low temperatures, while cool tones like blues and whites have colour temperatures of above 5000k.
Color Rendering Index
This is sometimes called colour rendition. It is a measure of the light quality that your bulbs will emit. This specification is considered relative to the visualization of objects under daylight that is 100. Lamps with an optimal colour rendition for surgery are those with a rating of above 80. Those with scores below this might distort the appearance and colour of objects, things that will prove fatal in surgery.
Radiating Heat
Most traditional lighting technologies will emit considerable heat in addition to the lighting. The heat, consequently, interferes with the comfort of a surgical team since it will get too hot under their scrubs. It might also dry the patient’s exposed tissues and affect the healing of surgical sites. LED light bulbs are your best choice for operating rooms since they emit little to virtually no heat.
With a focus on the above specifications, you are sure that your operating room will be well-lit. When picking your lights, consider infection control. Most new surgical lights will have minimal crevices that make them easy to sterilize and clean and are made of dust-friendly surfaces. Some manufacturers even have disposable covers for the lights to ensure they do not contaminate your operating field.