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Research Outline
Prepared for Vinod M. | Delivered August 22, 2019
History of Surgical Lighting
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Goals
To understand how surgical lighting and lighting instruments in the operating room have evolved over time.
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Early Findings
Surgical lights
-
also known as an "
operating light
or a surgical lighthead"
-
date back to the
1
8
5
0
'
s
originally.
In early operating rooms, lighting
came from skylights
, with the OR being build towards the southeast to maximize the amount of light flowing into the room.
In order to avoid light being blocked by individuals in the OR,
mirrors were later added
to the corners of the room to reflect light.
When electric lights first debuted, they were immediately added to
O
R
s
. While this solved the problem of light being blocked by individuals in the room, it created a new problem: "
the first lights
created great heat radiation and the emission of light was hardly controlled".
When
LED lights
hit the market, they replaced electric lights and eliminated the problems with radiation.
Today,
O
R
s
continue to utilize LED lights, though in
different formats
than the original ceiling light. Instead, these lights
have been incorporated into
tools, headlamps, and movable
p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n
a
b
l
e
lights.
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