Choosing the Best Loupes and Lights for You and Your Procedures

ErgoPractice News – October 2022
By Jin Chang PhD
jchang@surgitel.com

Summary

SurgiTel® has developed the widest range of loupes and headlights available. With complete options, determining which magnification and illumination products are best for you comes down to you and your procedures.

SurgiTel Loupes

With the introduction of ErgoDeflection™ loupes, SurgiTel now has four main categories of ergonomic loupes:

• ErgoDeflection Through-The-Lens (TTL)
• Straight TTL
• Frame Mounted Straight Front-Lens-Mounted (FLM)
• Headband-Mounted Straight FLM

ErgoDeflection TTL Loupes

The newly released ErgoDeflection line of TTL loupes allows the most upright work posture. If you have had neck surgery or have a condition where you need to be in a very upright position, these are going to be the best choice for you. There are two key differences between SurgiTel ErgoDeflection loupes and others on the market. First, ErgoDeflection loupes use new patent pending prism which allow us to customize the viewing angle to give you the right amount of reach distance between you and the patient. The second key feature is that ErgoDeflection loupes use ergonomic frames and pantoscopic tilt, which give you better eye protection and more area below the oculars to see your working area as you bring a tool into your magnified vision. Click Here to learn more about the ErgoDeflection.

Straight FLM Loupes

FLM loupes are available either mounted to a frame or headband. FLM loupes and most SurgiTel TTL loupes can deliver any declination angles to support the safe neck posture of less than a 20-degree head/neck tilt. The advantage of straight FLM loupes on either a frame or headband is that you can incrementally change your declination angle to gradually go from your current posture to a more upright position. After years of working in a bad posture, your spine and body may not be able to go from a hunched-over posture directly to an upright ergonomic posture. If you are a clinician that is operating on patients at different heights, FLM loupes also give you the ability to adjust the vertical direction to align with your operating area. Combining this feature with working distance caps, you can also change the distance that is in focus. With customizable FLM loupes, you can have the most flexibility and customization.

Straight TTL Loupes Vs. Deflection TTL Loupes

The main advantage of TTL loupes for both straight and deflection is that they don’t need to be adjusted. And since the oculars go through the lens, they sit closer to your eyes to provide a wider field of view from a keyhole effect. If you have the capability to adjust your patients’ positioning to meet your optimal working posture, then TTL loupes are a great choice.

The biggest difference between Straight TTL/FLM loupes and ErgoDeflection loupes is your line of sight to your operating area. Straight loupes give you a more natural direct line of sight to your hands. With your peripheral vision on the outside of the oculars, you are able to see the surrounding work area. With ErgoDeflection loupes, you look straight up to see the magnified area, and you look down below the oculars to see the work area and its surroundings with the naked eye. Deflection TTL loupes will require users to have a longer learning time.

Scope Style/Optical Design Options

SurgiTel offers three main optical styles:  Galilean loupes, Compact Prism loupes, and Deflection loupes.

Galilean Loupes

Galilean loupes use a simple design which helps keep the cost down. These loupes are ideal for low-power loupes (less than 3.0x). If you are not looking to increase your magnification but to work in a more upright ergonomic posture, SurgiTel ergonomic Galilean loupes are the best loupes option. SurgiTel Galilean loupes are available in a standard size and a smaller Micro size.

Compact Prism Loupes

The new UltiView™ Lite 3.0x magnification prism loupes have been introduced as a new beginner loupe. With the increase of working distance for the average clinician, 2.5x loupes are no longer an effective beginner magnification. The UltiView Lite has the same design and advantages as our compact prism loupes, but at a more compact size and lighter weight. The advantage over the 3.0x Galilean loupes is that it has a wider field of view, longer depth of field, and better edge-to-edge clarity. SurgiTel also offers the UltiView Pro line of loupes, which is a wider version of the UltiView loupes. With large objective lens and patented compact design, these loupes give you a wider field of view and good depth of field. Currently, magnifications go from 3.5x to 10.0x.

Another key feature of our prism loupes is the patented working distance caps, which not only help you save on long-term maintenance costs from prescription changes, but also allow you to easily change your working distance for different procedures. If you like the size and weight of the UltiView Lite but are looking for an increased magnification, the UltiView 3.5x and 4.5x are right for you.

Deflection Loupes

The newly released ErgoDeflection prism loupes are based off the UltiView Lite and UltiView in terms of lens sizes. They have the same compact prism design with all the same benefits but with the use of a patent pending deflection prism instead of a prism which rotates images. They are currently available in 3.5x and 4.5x magnifications and will be available in 5.5x and 6.5x magnifications early next year.

Loupe Magnification

For some clinicians, it all comes down to loupe magnification and sharpness. SurgiTel currently offers a full line of ergonomic loupes with loupe magnifications of up to 10x and uses laser alignment to maintain the binocular view of the object. The clarity and sharpness of an object are increased when both oculars and your eyes are perfectly aligned onto an object. This is especially important on higher-powered magnifications; the loupes need to be aligned precisely, otherwise the image and sharpness will degrade. Choosing sturdy, rigid frames is recommended to keep higher-power magnifications aligned.

Choosing your ideal loupe magnification depends mostly on these three factors:

• The object you are working on
• The age of your eyes
• Your working distance

Due to the distance effect, the longer your working distance is, the more magnification you need to see the same as those with a shorter working distance. As you get older, your eyes are less able to perceive details — this is when it is time to increase your loupe magnification. The more thoroughly you are able to see small objects, the quicker and more precisely you are able to work. For some procedures that you may have previously looked to use an operating microscope, many can now be done with 10x-powered loupes. The advantages of loupes over a microscope are flexibility in movement, different points of view around the operating area, and a more natural coaxial alignment from your eyes to your hand.

SurgiTel Headlights

SurgiTel is the only manufacturer that offers four different light temperatures:

• Warm at 3,000K
• Neutral at 4,000K
• Cool 1 at 5,700K
• Cool 2 at 6,500K

We additionally offer polarizing filters, color enhancement filters, and custom light beams for researchers. We offer these many options because different anatomical features are enhanced best with different light temperatures and filters.

Warm and Neutral LED Headlights

For dental procedures, warm and neutral lights are recommended. Our warm and neutral lights have the lowest blue light emissions currently on the market. If you are unaware of the blue light hazard and the long-term damage it may have on your eyes, please read Dr. Richard Price’s recently published study The Potential ‘Blue Light Hazard’ from LED Headlamps. The abstract may be accessed here.

SurgiTel first introduced LED headlights in 2006; many other companies introduced theirs at the same time. With LED lights being so new to dentistry, the full effects of using dangerous blue light temperature lights throughout a career have yet to unfold. Warm LED gives you a similar color temperature as a halogen light with the safest levels of blue light, while the neutral LED light gives you a safe blue light level with the most neutral white, balanced light.

Cool 1 and Cool 2 LED Headlights

For surgeons and veterinarians, SurgiTel’s Cool 1 and Cool 2 are the best lights to enhance veins and soft tissue. If you are working on skin or reflective surfaces, a polarizing filter is recommended. In some cases, SurgiTel has worked with surgeons on creating custom lights to help them with specific operations.

Learn more about the types of medical and surgical headlights available with LED Headlights as Clinical Illumination: Questions Raised by Clinicians and Answers.

New SurgiTel Products

With new products, SurgiTel is able to offer complete lines of ergonomic loupes and a wide range of LED headlights for various clinical applications. Below is a brief introduction to each new product. For an in-depth look into SurgiTel products, view our new brochure to peruse our line of ergonomic loupes, LED headlights, and companion products.

Frames

SurgiTel offers two new frames to meet requirements of the customer’s various facial features and prescriptions:

• ArmorFlex
  • A sturdy wrap-around frame that can accommodate prescriptions
• ComfortFlex 2.0
  • An improved version of ComfortFlex 1.0

Loupes

Two new loupes to expand our student and loupe magnification options:

• UltiView^™ Lite 3.0x Prism
  • A new student loupe or startup option
• ErgoDeflection^™
  • Currently available in 3.5x and 4.5X
  • 5x and 6.5x options coming soon

LED Headlights

Two new LED lights to include lightweight surgical light options and temperatures:

• Surgical Mini LED light (5700K)
  • One of the lightest surgical lights on the market at 14.6 grams
  • 100,000 lux
  • 40% brighter than the Odyssey Mini Cool LED (5700K) light
  • Improved battery pack with up to 12 hours of battery life
  • Frame- or Headband-mounted options
• Surgical Headband LED (6500K) 2.0
  • 20% brighter than the Surgical Headband LED (6500K) lights
  • Improved battery pack with up to 12 hours of battery life
  • Frame- or Headband-mounted options

Discover the Latest Innovation from SurgiTel

Be sure to check out SurgiTel’s latest innovations in loupes and headlight technology with our new brochure CLICK HERE! And if you’re interested in finding out how our products can improve your posture, schedule a free onsite evaluation! We’ll come to your office to show you how to practice pain-free with SurgiTel products.