Evaluation Background: Major LED Surgical Lights

Here's background for our Evaluations of major LED surgical lights, outlining the key considerations for making wise purchasing decisions. We provide a summary of our product ratings and explain how the technology is used, what factors we test for, and which product specs are important and why. We also report on hospitals' interest in each manufacturer, typical costs of ownership, and more.

Light-emitting diode (LED) surgical lights provide high-quality, consistent illumination for surgical teams to see into a patient's body, often into deep cavities. The light allows clinicians to identify and differentiate small, low-contrast tissues.

1. "Major" LED surgical lights are those that are used for more in-depth surgical procedures and that have some requirements involving backup power during fault conditions.

2. "Minor" surgical lights, which aren't covered here, are used for diagnostics and minor procedures; they typically have lower minimum illumination values.

Major LED surgical lights typically range in size from 22 to 30 inches (56 to 76 cm) in diameter and are ceiling- or wall-mounted. ORs will often have two or three lights mounted, with additional support arms for mounting viewing monitors or other devices used by the surgical team.

Most lights have zones, which are clusters of angled LEDs. This design has built-in reflectors or lenses that direct the path of light in such a way that shadows in the surgical field are diluted. The device position is adjusted from within the sterile field using a central handle, and from outside the sterile field using the outer perimeter of the light head.

LED lights were introduced in 2005 and have become the preferred light source over conventional halogen bulbs due to their improved lighting characteristics, low heat production, high efficiency, and long life. They are a fairly stable technology;...