Why Should SurgiTel 3.5x Prism Loupes with True-Color LED Headlights Be the Standard for Next Generation Dentists?

ErgoPractice News – November 2020

Summary:

1. The field size of SurgiTel 3.5x prism loupes is similar to the field size of 2.5x Galilean loupes.
2. SurgiTel loupes can be either TTL (through-the-lens) style or FLM (front-lens-mounted) style.
3. SurgiTel frames with true custom nose pads allow custom fitting and optimum vision.
4. SurgiTel prism loupes can be used as multi-resolution loupes with patented interchangeable working distance caps. With shorter working distance caps, we can see more details.
5. SurgiTel true-color neutral LED headlights offer the best color accuracy and the safest to eyes. It has been proven that cool or extreme cool LED lights can damage eyes.¹
6. SurgiTel true-color beam-forming optical technology is patented and thus other companies cannot achieve true-color and safe vision without this technology.⁶

Why Should SurgiTel 3.5x Prism Loupes (EVK350) Be the Standard for Next-Generation Dentists?

SurgiTel’s 3.5x Prism Loupes with Neutral LED Headlight, TTL and FLM models

2.5x magnification loupes have been considered “standard” since the 1960s. At the same time computers have replaced the typewriter, photocopiers replaced the mimeograph, and the internet replaced the multi-volume encyclopedia – 2.5x loupes have remained “standard” although working postures of dentists have been changed significantly.

We propose to let 2.5x loupes go the way of the typewriter. And dental professionals should stop using these “typewriter-level-loupes” in their modern offices.

In the past, dental professionals’ average working distance was about 14” or shorter. Then we began to understand the negative effects of “leaning in” posture which has created pain in clinician’s neck and back. Thankfully, now the average working distance of dental and hygiene students is about 19” or longer. It is noted that longer working distances are a requirement for ergonomic postures but not a guarantee of ergonomics. This increased working distance of about 35% requires an equal or greater increase in magnification (at least 3.5x) to achieve the same visual acuity which we can see through 2.5x loupes.²

SurgiTel recommends 3.5x magnification to students as their 1^st loupes. Students will simply have better results and will likely have better posture because they won’t need to lean in trying to see better. There is no reason students’ work shouldn’t excel in clinical learning as well as throughout their career.

SurgiTel offers more magnification options in both TTL and FLM styles than any other loupe company: 2.5x to 3.0x in Galilean loupes and 3.5x to 8.0x in prismatic loupes (aka expanded field or Keplerian).

SurgiTel 3.5x prism loupes (EK350) have several advantages over other brand’s 3.5x prism loupes.

1. SurgiTel loupes are assembled with patented technologies to make truly ergonomic loupes which keep the user’s head and neck safely upright.³ This includes our EVK350 loupes.
2. SurgiTel prism loupes’ field sizes are larger. The field size of SurgiTel EVK350 loupes is the largest among all brand 3.5x loupes which is possible only with SurgiTel’s patented designs.
3. The resolution of SurgiTel’s 3.5x prism loupes is the highest among all brand 3.5x prism loupes which is easily verified by comparing sizes of objective lenses.
4. SurgiTel EVK350 loupes can be mounted on all frame types which may feature our truly custom, Ergo Fit Nose Pad System.
5. All SurgiTel 3.5x loupes are prismatic type. SurgiTel once offered 3.5x Galilean loupes but this was discontinued because users reported difficulty with a very small field-of-view which is the required trade-off with Galilean loupes. It is noted that if some manufacturers offer 3.5x Galilean loupes with a large field of view, the magnification power of these is not 3.5x.
6. SurgiTel prism loupes can be TTL style, frame-mounted FLM style, or headband-mounted FLM style.
7. SurgiTel 3.5x and 4.5x prism loupes have a micro line option (MEVK350 and MEVK450) which are lighter than 3.5x and 4.5x compact prism loupes (EVK350 and EVK450) but with the trade-off of smaller field size.
8. All SurgiTel prism loupes can be used as multi-resolution loupes with interchangeable working distance caps. Using shorter working distance caps, we can see more details of objects. It is noted that if the working distance decreases, images projected onto the retina increases. This is called the working distance effect. We can see better by getting closer to objects. Using working distance caps, you can save refurbishment costs by simply adjusting working distance when your working distance increases as reading Rx increases.

In conclusion, modern ergonomic postures require dental professionals to work with longer working distances (average 19”) which needs at least 3.5x magnification loupes. 2.5x loupes will not help users see any useful level of detail at 19” working distance. With ergonomic benefits and other important advantages mentioned above, SurgiTel EVK350 loupes should become the standard loupes among next-generation dental professionals.

Why Should SurgiTel True-Color LED Headlights Be the Standard for Dental Professionals?

Clinician’s Report LED Comparison⁴

When early-generation LED lights were introduced to be used as clinical loupe-mounted headlights, brightness was the primary selling point. Because extremely cool LEDs appeared brighter, most manufacturers promoted extremely cool LED lights that have a strong blue spectrum. But this strong blue light not only distorts color but also can damage the retina. The blue light hazard has been reported and proven to be dangerous to eyes¹, but today many dental professionals are using these extreme cool lights.

French Govt Research¹

Recognizing the blue light hazard of extreme cool LED lights, SurgiTel introduced true-color neutral LED lights many years ago which offer the best color accuracy and the safest to eyes.⁴ The beam of this true-color neutral LED light looks very natural and has a balanced spectral distribution: the peak of blue spectral band is similar to the peak of green/red band. The strong blue light radiation of extreme cool LED lights can damage eyes, leading to early-onset age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Figure 1 shows the relative risk of eyes as a function of the color temperature of lights. As the color temperature increases, the risk factor of eye damage increases.¹

Figure 1 – LED Risk Relative to CCT

When we introduced this neutral LED model, our competitors still said extreme cool LED lights with strong blue light were better. Clinician’s Report, an independent, dental research group, published color temperatures of beams of various brand LED Headlights, showing that SurgiTel neutral LED lights are the safest LED.^{4, 5} This is not only safer but also the most comfortable to look at and provides the best color accuracy for better detection and color matching!

Our competitors couldn’t maintain their “blue light is good” narrative as more and more research on blue light hazard become available and companies like Apple and Microsoft were reacting by putting neutral colored “night modes” into their devices and software. So only recently, over 10 years after SurgiTel introduced the true-color neutral LED lights, our competition has released their own “Neutral” LED options. However, as you can see in the example in Figure 2, these LEDs are still very blue because they must use non-true-color optical technology due to SurgiTel’s patents.

In conclusion, clinical headlights should meet two requirements. First, they can help clinicians see details of anatomical features such as teeth and other organs well – accurate color and good image contrast. Second, they should not damage eyes due to strong blue light radiation. Since SurgiTel true-color neutral LED headlights have been proven to offer the best color accuracy and the safest among all LED headlights available today,⁴ they should be the standard for dental professionals.

Figure 2 – LED tint example: SurgiTel comparison with LumaDent

Why Should SurgiTel 3.5x Loupes (EVK350) with True-Color LED Headlights Be the Standard for Next-Generation Dentists?

As discussed, SurgiTel’s EVK350 loupe mounted with SurgiTel’s true-color, neutral LED headlight is the best combination of loupes and illumination which offers the best vision & ergonomics, the best color accuracy, and the best eye safety. We believe SurgiTel 3.5x prism EVK350 Loupes with True-Color LED Headlights should be the standard for next-generation dentists.

If you or a colleague are looking for new loupes or headlights, you can request a free evaluation at https://surgitel.com/free-evaluation .

Summary:

1. The field size of SurgiTel 3.5x prism loupes is similar to the field size of 2.5x Galilean loupes.
2. SurgiTel loupes can be either TTL (through-the-lens) style or FLM (front-lens-mounted) style.
3. SurgiTel frames with true custom nose pads allow custom fitting and optimum vision.
4. SurgiTel prism loupes can be used as multi-resolution loupes with patented interchangeable working distance caps. With shorter working distance caps, we can see more details.
5. SurgiTel true-color neutral LED headlights offer the best color accuracy and the safest to eyes. It has been proven that cool or extreme cool LED lights can damage eyes.¹
6. SurgiTel true-color beam-forming optical technology is patented and thus other companies cannot achieve true-color and safe vision without this technology.⁶

References:

1. French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety, 2019. On The “Effects On Human Health And The Environment (Fauna And Flora) Of Systems Using Light-Emitting Diodes (Leds)”. Available at: <https://www.anses.fr/en/system/files/AP2014SA0253EN.pdf> [Accessed 28 August 2020].
2. Chang, BJ, Guidelines for Selecting Clinical Loupes, ErgoPractice News, August 2016. https://surgitel.com/guidelines-for-selecting-clinical-loupes/
3. Chang, BJ, True Ergonomics from SurgiTel: The Truth about Declination Angle, ErgoPractice News, June 2020. https://surgitel.com/true-ergonomics-from-surgitel-the-truth-about-declination-angle
4. Clinicians Report, Smaller and Lighter LED Headlamps. A Publication of CR Foundation, April 2012, https://www.cliniciansreport.org/products/product/products-real-world-practitioners-use-and-value-most-april-2012-volume-5-issue-4.php
5. Clinicians Report, Cordless LED Headlamps: A Bright Idea? A Publication of CR Foundation, May 2017, https://www.cliniciansreport.org/products/product/cordless-led-headlamps-a-bright-idea-wipe-disinfection-killing-or-spreading-the-germs-radiation-are-you-and-your-patients-and-staff-protected-%E2%80%93-may-2017-volume-10-issue-5.php.
6. Chang, BJ, Evaluation of Major Brands of LED Headlights: Color Distortion and Blue Light Hazard, ErgoPractice News, August 2020, https://surgitel.com/evaluation-of-major-brands-of-led-headlights-color-distortion-and-blue-light-hazard/