Ergo Practice News logo May 2019

SurgiTel’s Achievements in Clinical Vision & Ergonomics

/in , , , ,
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
ErgoPractice News – May 2019

Over the last 25 years, SurgiTel has continued to invest in research and development in order to offer clinicians and students truly ergonomic loupes that fit all facial features. We have paired our loupes with advanced LED headlights that offer the best color accuracy and are the safest to eyes. Now, because of our continual improvement, we can confidently say that SurgiTel is ready to be the true #1 provider of quality clinical vision and ergonomics. This month we would like to report SurgiTel’s achievements in clinical vision and ergonomics.

Before reporting on our achievements, we would like to thank you for your support. Your encouragement and feedback provided throughout our history have been valuable as we continue on our mission to improve the way dental and medical professionals work.

Short Review of SurgiTel’s Achievements

SurgiTel was established as a Division of General Scientific Corporation to provide clinicians with vision aid products that deliver the best vision in addition to true ergonomic benefits. During the last 25 years we have obtained many patents and have led the industry by introducing several world-first products based on those patents:

Changes in the Last 25 Years

  1. Customizable front-lens-mounted (FLM) loupes (2.5x – 8.0x) (Figure 1) offer the best ergonomics amongst all FLM loupes, allowing users to optimize their head tilt.
  2. Portable headlights that originally utilized small halogen light bulbs, now replaced with LED chips.
  3. The loupe-mounted digital camera system is now updated with HD image sensors.
  4. Achromatic beam-forming optics for the best LED beam quality.
  5. Ergonomically fitted through-the-lens (TTL) loupes (2.5x – 8.0x) (Figure 1) to help users keep their head tilt within a safe head tilt range by inventing new ergonomic frames and advanced manufacturing technologies.
  6. Ergo-Fit Nose Pad options for all frames to fit a wide variety of facial features. Pads prevent fogging, eliminate eyelashes from touching lenses, and are drop-in Rx compatible.

Today, we offer the best resolution loupes which are ergonomically fitted to your unique facial features.

SurgiTel’s Family of Vision Aid Products

Since introducing 2.5x FLM loupes in 1993, we have designed a great quantity of magnification power loupes, various headlights, and digital camera systems as follows:

Loupes:

We offer FLM and TTL loupes, both fitted to allow clinicians to practice safely and stay within a safe head tilt angle. SurgiTel offers three lines of loupes:

  1. Compact-Line: Magnification options 2.5x – 4.5x
  2. Micro-Line: Magnification options 2.5x – 4.5x
  3. Pro-Line: Magnification options 5.5x – 8.0x

Compact-line loupes and micro-line loupes offer the same magnification. However, micro-line loupes are significantly lighter than compact-line loupes because the lenses for micro-line loupes are smaller. Micro-line loupes require the clinician to use brighter illumination because of the smaller lenses.

With that, we also offer a wide variety of frame options. Amongst our popular SurgiTel frames we also carry sports frames such as Oakley frames which meet all our ergonomic and safety requirements. All frames are compatible with our easy to use, custom nose pad options.

LED Headlights:

We offer both neutral and cool LED lights for all our LED headlights (except for the cool-only Surgical LED headlight). Our LED headlights are designed to achieve optimal eye safety and the best color accuracy.1,2

SurgiTel Offers 5 types of LED Headlights (Figure 2):

  1. Odyssey LED headlights: battery-operated, attach with belt clip, turn on/off with a knob
  2. Eclipse LED headlights: battery-operated, attach with belt clip, turn on/off with hand motion
  3. Surgical LED headlights: battery-operated, attach with belt clip, turn on/off with knob, available in cool only
  4. Wireless LED headlights: turn on/off with touch, heavier than Wireless Air, brighter than Wireless Air
  5. Wireless Air LED headlights: turn on/off with touch, more lightweight than Wireless, dimmer than Wireless

It is important to note that the Eclipse LED headlight can be turned on and off with a simple hand motion. The Eclipse LED headlight has been a very practical tool for clinicians because it is the only LED on the market that can completely eliminate potential cross-contamination because it is completely contact-free.

Companion Products:

To further the ergonomics for our clients, SurgiTel carries RGP ergonomic seating systems in conjunction with ergonomic loupes and proper clinical lighting. This combination helps clinicians in preventing injury to the neck and back (Figure 3).

Lastly, SurgiTel now makes it easy to record or broadcast your procedures with the SurgiCam HD, a digital camera which is easily mounted onto your loupes and useful for training, sharing, publication, documentation, and consultation.

Improvements to Our Production Facility

Our loupes have improved several times to offer the best vision and ergonomics benefits to users. However, these changes require us to change our production machinery and processes. With these changes, the rapid growth of sales, and constant innovation our delivery of new orders and repairs have suffered in the past. This has caused frustration due to slow delivery, ultimately creating a bad reputation among some of our customers.

To fix this we have implemented innovative concepts to speed up the process in order to provide faster delivery. We take pride in being able to provide better loupes in a faster amount of time. In order to improve our delivery speed, we have made significant investments in manufacturing equipment such as high-speed CNC machines and laser-alignment systems. As a result, we can fulfill new orders and repairs much faster to keep up with demand in a timely manner.

Special Offers to SurgiTel Customers and Their Friends and Families

As we keep improving and innovating, we hope you will continue to grow with us. As a “Thank You” we have special offers and discounts for returning customers and referred customers. Check with your local SurgiTel representative for more details.

To contact your local sales representative go to Find a Rep or call 1-800-959-0153

 

References:
  1. Clinicians Report. “Is Your Headlamp Damaging Your Eyes?,” A Publication of CR Foundation, March 2013. www.cliniciansreport.org
  2. Chang, BJ. “Is My LED headlight Safe? The Blue Light Hazard: Exposure to Extreme Blue LED Headlights Negatively Affects Ocular Health,” ErgoPractice News, October 2015. https://surgitel.com/is-my-led-headlight-safe-the-blue-light-hazard/