Spark/Zebra/Mammut spot lamp for medical / surgical use

I've been culling CPF and the web for information on a portable, battery operated spot headlamp for use in the hospital. It should be:

-LED powered (though I would be open to a solid incan)
-Have a tight spot (~10 degrees or less)
-Have good color temperature (warm or neutral white) / high CRI for being able to assess the red/orange/yellow/green end of the spectrum, since thats where most tissue colors are
-Below $150
-Not critical but would be nice to have freedom to use different battery types (14500, Li disposables, Alkaline, etc.)

I've considered and read up on a bunch of headlamps, including Fenix HP-10, PT Yukon HL, Spark ST5 / ST6, Mammut x-zoom, lighting pro technology HL1, PT Eos, and others.


I've narrowed it down to:

Spark ST6 460/200NW or ST5 190NW
Zebralight H501w or H51w Neutral White
Mammut X-Zoom


I don't know the LED specifics for the x-zoom and would love it if someone could fill me in. I talked to the Mammut North America product rep and he said that it was a Cree LED, but he didn't know which one (I thought it was a Luxeon, since Mammut uses them in other lamps). I emailed their main HQ a few weeks ago but I've heard nothing back.

I would greatly appreciate any input people have about these, as well as any other neutral white/high CRI spot lamps that I have overlooked.

Thanks!

None of these, I suggest customized Petzl Myo RXP with the 10* optics and high CRI Cree XP-G.

Aren't there better lights designed for this purpose in medical supply stores?

gcbryan said:

Aren't there better lights designed for this purpose in medical supply stores?

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my thoughts exactly.

here's a link to a previous thread about surgical lamps.

Szemhazai said:

None of these, I suggest customized Petzl Myo RXP with the 10* optics and high CRI Cree XP-G.

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how is this helpful? who is going to mod the light for him?

@gcbryan- You would think so, right? Intraoperative surgical lighting uses a halogen/xenon lightbox that plugs into the wall. Then the surgeon wears a headlight with a fiberoptic cable that plugs into the box. Great color temperature/CRI and very bright light in a very tight spot.

The trouble is portability. I want a light that I can take with me to see patients in the emergency room or on the hospital floor when I need to perform procedures that I need both of my hands for. I'd like to use LEDs for all the advantages they give, and it seems that they're getting much better color spectra/CRIs lately, rivaling halogens/incans these days. There are a lot more medical companies that are beginning to use LEDs for their systems such as http://www.rimsa.it/lang1/medical_lights.html , http://www.snell-industrial.com/pid14585/LED+Portable+Headlight.htm , and http://www.visiled.com/halo_xl.html . But often these cost up to multiple thousands of dollars for no apparent reason. I'm just looking for a reasonable alternative in what seems to be a burgeoning industry (LED headlamps).

Thanks robostudent... I had read that thread, but there were no specific lights that people gave feedback on. I figured I would start some dialogue about specific lamps.

Zebralight H51w would be a good bet, if you want a good spot, the F version if not. Too bad they haven't gotten H51c's yet...

I see. Thanks for the details. Headlamps are usually pretty low tech and most don't offer high CRI that I'm aware of. You might be able to chose the tint (neutral) with some such as Zebralight.

Most headlamps are flood for close up use or a narrower spot for distance use outside. A narrow spot for closeup work isn't what most are designed for but a tight focus with brightness control may work. High CRI is probably going to be tough in a LED headlamp.

I don't know anything about the Mammut. If it zooms then I guess that is the attraction. Other than using an optic like an aspheric it's probably going to be hard to find a light focused enough for you with no spill to blind the patient.

Both Zebra and SureFire have high-CRI headlamps on the drawing board, but they're not out yet. Can you wait a spell? If not, go for a warm/neutral tint. 10 degrees is a narrow spot, and some of the lights on your short list are wider than that. With your spot requirement I'd be looking hard at a neutral/warm tint Spark for the time being, until the HiCRIs become more common.

I have the Spark ST6-460NW and really love it. The most important thing to me first is comfort and as simple as the headband is, it is really comfortable. I am new on here and still learning a lot on CPF so I do not know all of the tech stuff yet but the tint of the Spark is great out in the field. There is a lot of light and great mix of flood and throw. I also have the Mammut and I do not care for it at all. It is very uncomfortable and leaves a mark on my forehead when I take it off. It has a tighter beam and throws more, which I prefer, but is is so UNCOMFORTABLE! Another headlamp I have and really like is the Surefire. It is more of a flood but can be dialed way down in the lumens. It probably would not work for you though as it is has a bright white color. Super comfortable though! I am glad to have both the Spark and the Surefire for different applications.

Bolster said:

10 degrees is a narrow spot, and some of the lights on your short list are wider than that. With your spot requirement I'd be looking hard at a neutral/warm tint Spark for the time being.

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adding to Bolster's comment, don't forget that the spill beam angle on most reflectored lights is 60-90 degrees and that even on moderate brightnesses, the light from the spill will be enough to impair the vision of the people inside the beam.

srfreddy said:

Zebralight H51w would be a good bet, if you want a good spot, the F version if not. Too bad they haven't gotten H51c's yet...

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The H51c and H51Fc will be available in mid June.

robostudent5000 said:

how is this helpful? who is going to mod the light for him?

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I think that there must by at last one talented guy in North America who can do it for him... I'm moding lamps from Poland/Czech/Germany so there must be other people doing the same all around the world.

Szemhazai said:

I think that there must by at last one talented guy in North America who can do it for him... I'm moding lamps from Poland/Czech/Germany so there must be other people doing the same all around the word.

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maybe. but not as good as you man. :thumbsup:

I think, for what you're doing, you might like the beam of the PT Eos. The frosted optic gives a nice smooth beam that isn't too wide. The light takes Alkaline, NiMH, or Lithium primary batteries. The Luxeon Rebel usually has a decent tint for a cool white LED (in my experience), but if you decided you didn't like the tint, the LED is fairly simple to upgrade (or, there's several people here who would do it for you).

For your use, I think it might be useful to be able to quickly take the light off your head, and hold it in your hand, to visualize from a different angle. Perhaps a H51c (high CRI) with a modified headband, so you could hold it in your hand easily? I can't remember who has spearheaded all the Zebralight mods, but he has some nice low-profile headband ideas that might work.

Ted

Please forgive my lack of knowledge and curiosity (and off-topic-ness), but how would you sterilize a headlamp? (I get that it's not touching the patient, but doesn't medical stuff have to be somewhat clean?)

I suggest a Surefire Saint Minimus... go with it for the reliablity, decent CRI, nice flood, easy to dial in brightness, and comfort. You wouldn't want your head lamp to go out during surgery, or start strobing or something...

ZebraLight said:

The H51c and H51Fc will be available in mid June.

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I'd say wait for the high CRI ZL's... Unless you really need more output than about 125 lumens, they should do fine.

I'm an avid camper, hiker, and cyclist, and I use my headlamps a lot... Since I got my H51w, I've pretty much tossed all the rest into the junk drawer. I keep my PT Byte in my handy-man toolbox for convenience and backup, and the Energizer pure flood that runs on 3xAA with the camping and emergency supplies I keep stocked in a corner of our pantry. The rest of the ones I've had I've given to my wife and son.

My H51w is a great headlamp, but I find that anything more than the 120 lumen setting on H2 to be too much; I keep my H2 setting programmed to the 86 lumen setting and that is more usually all the light I ever need for what I use my H51w for. So I would think that, again, unless you're sure you're going to need a LOT of output, the ZL H51c will meet your needs just fine.

Great advice, thanks everyone. As far as the spill goes, I figure if I can keep it on the medium setting, hopefully it won't bother patients too much...

I'm working from about a 12"-24" range, so at that distance, a 10 degree spot will be 2-4" (if the 10 degrees is a total spread and not 10 degrees to each side- maybe someone can clarify that).

Alankujala- its great to hear a headlamp to headlamp comparison, thanks. Again, the Mammut is only really attractive because of its ability to focus down to 5 degrees.. I have no idea how good/bad the color temperature/CRI is for the LED they use (or what LED it is to begin with). If anyone has any info on the x-zoom LED, I'd love to hear it.

The headlamp would stay on my head while doing procedures, I wouldn't need to move it once its set, ideally. You don't really need to sterilize headlamps, per se. I can adjust it all I need to then scrub/sterilize my hands and gown up to do the procedure. Usually in the OR, when we need to adjust our headlamps, we just take a sterile towel and adjust it as needed then toss the towel (as it has now touched the headlamp which is not sterile).

I remember looking at the surefire... I think it has a bluish/higher color temperature tint, which I cant really use.

I think I'm leaning toward one of the high CRI zebralights, now that they are closer to being available. Keep throwing around some suggestions though, I'm sure there are some I haven't considered.