Pupillary reflex penlight

Hi everyone,

i'm looking for a penlight as a gift for an optometrist/optician mainly for checking pupillary reflexes. I've seen the Welch Allyn Penlite (retails for around £55 in the UK) but was hoping you may be able to suggest alternatives? I've tried out a couple of medical torches but these are usually too bright to shine in the eye (usually run on 2 AAA batteries). Would any of you have ideas and suggestions for a good quality penlight suitable for this purpose?

All your help would be very much appreciated.

jibbz

The Peak Eiger 2XAAA penlight is absolutely great. Here's a link to a review:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/244743

Note that the Peak is available is any one of eight different power levels from #1 (lowest power) to #8 (highest power). My doctor thought the #6 I showed him was too bright for this purpose. I believe a level #3, medium beam, cool tint, in Peak's stainless steel body with a momentary switch, would be ideal.

The Preon (one or two AAA) might be a good choice. The low levels could be about right for a doc.

Geoff

Wow, thanks for both the recommendations, they really do look superb. I'm tempted to order both the Peak Eiger and Preon 2

With regards to the Peak Eiger (great review btw DWF), does this not have a multiple output option like the Preon? I've attempted to look through the Peak website but it's not the best website for a mere novice like me.

Also am i right in thinking that the warm color option for the Eiger is a closer match to the light of an incandescent bulb?

cheers
jibbz

A multiple power option is in the works for the Eiger but not yet available. And yes, the natural tint Eiger is very, very warm - close to incandescent. Is such a warm tint preferable for this use?

I have used my Quark AA with neutral tint for this purpose. The warm tint does not really matter for the pupillary exam, but it is great for rendering tissue in accurate colors on other examinations.

Wasn't really sure if i needed the warm or cool tint, but based on the above advice i'll stick to the cool tint.

Snow - the Quark AA goes down to 0.2 lumens, is this the output you have it set to for pupillary reflex checks? I ask because the Preons lowest output is 2.2lumens, would that be too bright for this purpose?

jibbz said:

Snow - the Quark AA goes down to 0.2 lumens, is this the output you have it set to for pupillary reflex checks? I ask because the Preons lowest output is 2.2lumens, would that be too bright for this purpose?

Click to expand...

I just shined my Preon at my eye, and it appears too bright.

A Quark or a Novatac or Ra Clicky would do very well. Maybe even a Liteflux LF2XT or LF2X or MJP Extreme.

That should give you a pretty good price range, and all lights have a very low low.

I gotta say, the cheapie disposables are fine. If you need something a little brighter, a regular Mag is fine.

Based on 13 years of experience shining things in eyes.

jibbz said:

Wasn't really sure if i needed the warm or cool tint, but based on the above advice i'll stick to the cool tint.

Snow - the Quark AA goes down to 0.2 lumens, is this the output you have it set to for pupillary reflex checks? I ask because the Preons lowest output is 2.2lumens, would that be too bright for this purpose?

Click to expand...

I don't think 2.2 lumens is too bright. I sometimes use the settings higher than that with the Quark, I just don't shine it directly into the eye, more at an angle.

Did a quick search and a bulb for a Topcon slit lamp is 450 lumens, one for a Marco is 800. I don't know how bright 2.2 lumens is, but it's obviously nowhere near as bright as these lights are, and they are shined in the eye a lot longer than a penlight is during pupillary constriction or even photostress recovery tests. I would also wager that a BIO is significantly brighter, and this is also (sometimes) shined in the eye for a lot longer than a penlight would be. I compared my direct ophthalmoscope to my Fenix P2D on its lowest setting (rated 12 lumens) and it was only slightly dimmer, and that, which is much dimmer than the BIO, can also be used for relatively extended periods of time.

FWIW, the Welch Allyn penlight is very nice. It's well constructed, has a good weight to it, and I like the switch. However, I think it's overpriced (they gave them to us for free, which makes me think they must have a high markup on them), especially considering they're only using a xenon bulb, which is not only inefficient but gets hot. I like it a lot, though, especially since it was free, but am looking for one that's similar but has multiple light output levels. It needs to be selectable through a twist mechanism or something, though, as I can't be cycling through every time I need to use it during an exam. Is this how the Preon works, or is there one somebody can recommend? I like Fenix, and am currently looking into the LD05, but it looks like you have to cycle through the output levels.

sorry for hijacking the thread, but i too am looking for a penlight fit for the purpose of pupillary light reflex, but also with a higher setting for say a more intimate female examination involving instruments (in a purely professional medical setting, NOT in a perverted sense!). as a result of the latter, i would guess a neutral/warmer tint would be better. my old arc AAA PE is not bright enough and the bluish tinge is not ideal for visualising the back of the throat.

the preon does look good, but does it come with option of neutral LED? or are there any better suggestions please?

Just an FYI, I too am looking for a penlight. But through experience, the LF2XT are too bright for my patient's eyes (low setting), the Preon's are not concentrated enough, and the cool tint hurts patient's eyes. So basically you want a concentrated incandescant light, or a good warm tint mini light with good concentration.... any suggestions?

crazy, I was literally just about to start this thread
I was thinking the preon would be perfect...

CaNo said:

Just an FYI, I too am looking for a penlight. But through experience, the LF2XT are too bright for my patient's eyes (low setting), the Preon's are not concentrated enough, and the cool tint hurts patient's eyes. So basically you want a concentrated incandescant light, or a good warm tint mini light with good concentration.... any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Are you sure? I believe the LF2XT has a low that is near the lowest low you can get. On the lights I own that have a low similar to the minimum level of the LF2XT, I can look directly at the emitter in darkness without hurting my eyes.

Maybe take a look through the manual to find out how to get the lowest brightness setting the light can do.

I have a Peak Eiger 2AAA penlight (level 8).

You'll definitely want to get the lowest output (level 1), and spend extra for the momentary switch too.

I am in the same boat, but am interested for veterinary use. I would need a multimode light that goes down to a very low intensity, and is available in a warmer light like incandescent.

So is the consensus that the Peak Eiger is the way to go? Are there any others that would work? I saw it mentioned earlier that cheap disposables would do well (I am assuming this means some of the stuff on DX and similar). I was looking through there and could not find anything with a low enough lumen rating. It seems these days most people want in a small package is an overwhelming amount of light (I already have a light that fits this bill, and would not use it for a PRL lol).

Sorry to expect so much on my first post. I have actually been looming around for a bit, but finally registered.

I think when people say disposable, they mean a photon/button cell type light. That one might be a problem (or inconvenience) for a vet, because if you drop it, I would suspect some animals could try to eat it.

Maybe tie a lanyard to one.

I use a cheapo medical penlight which is supposed to be throat illuminator (which cheapos don't function well as, poor intesnity poor colour rendition) and pupillary reflex light, (though I have a Welch Allyn opthalmoscope). They are available at most medical bookshops. Not sure about giving one as a gift though, or indeed any tool of the trade to a professional, they'll probably have one.

Hi
One year of working at the ER with a romisen RC-G2 in my pocket.
I would definetly NOT recommend any multimode lights because of the sheer possibility to hit the eyes with a max-brightness-hotspot and the confusion possible with multimodes. We all now that hitting the eye with a 220 lumen hotspot can have serious consequences

Anyway: i use my G2 every day. For investigating the different cavernous spots (nose/mouth) the hotspot is perfect. For investigating the pupilary reflex it is safe to use the spill, which is low enough to not hurt the retina.
You NEVER NEVER directly turn on the light aiming at the eyes - with no flashlight whatsoever. You always move from the side toward the eye so you see the pupillary reflex kicking in when the spill hits the eye.


My G2 survives falls, is cheap, doesn't hurt if it gets stolen/lost, uses common AA batteries and survives being desinfected with alcohol xx times a day.


just my two cents

greets from the ER