Novel Lighting System for Operating Room

A new lamp that combines two optical systems is designed to improve working conditions and increase efficiency in the operating room (OR).

Called Stella, the lamp has two optical systems in a single body. These are joined on an optical axis, each with its own lens, filters, and reflectors. The patented system combines halogen and gas-discharge technology. While the gas discharge lamp generates large-area, shadow-free illumination, the halogen lamp provides an additional high-contrast depth illumination. As a result, the system is able to evenly illuminate both the area surrounding a wound and deep into the situs, supporting stereoscopic vision and preventing bothersome shadows from occurring as much as possible.

The identical color temperature of both light systems, 4200 Kelvin, creates conditions for optimal color recognition and makes tissue layers more easily distinguishable from each other. The new control design takes into account the demands of the individual surgeon by allowing the surgeon to set the optimal luminance by the constant, homogenous light cylinder and to adjust the depth of illumination using a sterilizable handgrip located on the body of the lamp. The Stella concept also accommodates the necessity to better separate sterile and nonsterile areas in order to optimize the efficiency of procedures and hygienic requirements before and during an operation.

Stella was developed by Draeger Medical AG (Lubeck, Germany), which introduced the unit at the annual meeting of the European Society of Anesthesiology (ESA) in Vienna (Austria) in May 2005.




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