New Surgical Light Reduces Risk of Hospital Infections

An innovative operating room light improves laminar airflow, so that sterile conditions are maintained and the risk of infection is reduced.

The Merivaara (Lahti, Finland) Q-Flow surgical light is designed to decrease airflow circulation in the operating area, thus reducing the potential for contamination. While standard operating room (OR) lights create high turbulence intensity, the Q-Flow uses a series of concentric circles with open spaces in between to improve laminar airflow. As a result, turbulence intensity is reduced to 15.9%, less than half of 37.5% required by the DIN 1946-4:2008 standard.

In addition, an intuitive sterile surgeon control solution called Intueri makes surgical operations safer and the OR environment more ergonomic for surgeons, as the Q-Flow displays simple user instructions on the operating table itself so the surgeon does not have to look up. Q-Flow also delivers high-end illumination properties, providing a very deep column of light and dynamic obstacle compensation (DOC), so if the surgeon bends over his or her patient, sensors brighten other light emitting diodes (LEDs) to reduce shadows.

Q-Flow is suitable for a variety of surgical procedures such as internal or plastic surgery thanks to superb color rendering, particularly in red and skin shades, and also provides a green ambilite for viewing images and text on OR monitors. Q-Flow is also part of the Merivaara Fluent concept, so that the Intueri interface can work across a variety of devices, including operating tables and an integrated management system, allowing the medical staff to concentrate on the patient instead of learning how to use different devices.

“We had surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses give us their input as we developed the Q-Flow. They are very enthusiastic about the final result,” said Markku Aherto, CEO of Merivaara. “I believe this is one of the best operating theatre lights in the world. Finnish healthtech has a very good reputation around the globe; I am proud that we can offer something to the world which contributes to Finland’s great reputation.”