LED HEADLAMPS
The following information supplements the January 2007 CRA Newsletter report
Index
- Summary of study
- Headlamps Evaluated
- Features Chart - coming soon
- Battery Life Graphs - coming soon
- Spot Profile Graphs - coming soon
NOTE: Due to the volume of data, it will require a few more days to finish posting all the information. Please check back later.
- Summary of Study
- FireFly ($695)
- PeriStar ($795)
- LED Portalite ($995)
- Zeon LED Portable ($1,050)
- Headlamps Evaluated (Back to top)
- FireFly by SheerVision (www.sheervision.com) $695
- Halo 5000 by enova (www.enovamedical.com) $2490
- LED PortaLite by Design for Vision (www.designsforvision.com) $995
- One Spot by Hager Worldwide (www.hagerworldwide.com) $696
- PeriStar by PeriOptix (www.perioptix.com) $795
- Spring LED Headlight by Spring Health Products (www.springhealthproducts.com) $499
- StarBright by High Q Dental (www.highqdental.com) $140
- Zeon LED Portable by Orascoptic (www.orascoptic.com) $1050
Summary: Good design, medium-high intensity output, many mount options available, very easy to use, good battery life, short recharge time, & lowest cost of top performing brands tested. Evaluators noted good illumination & overall design features, but disliked the nonlinear intensity control & had some problems with the universal clip-on mount. Overall "Excellent - Good" rating. FireFly was the "best buy" among the top performing brands. Evaluator comment: "This is a good, solid product that well represents the advantages of LED portable headlights."
FireFly universal clip-on version with battery pack.
FireFly headband version.
FireFly protective eye-wear version.
Battery pack & charger.
Summary: Super intense surgical headlamp that most Evaluators felt was beyond the needs of the typical clinician. Had highest intensity of any LED headlamp tested, & good battery life, but very high cost. Heavy, bulky design with dual batteries mounted on the headband or carried in optional waist pack. Overall "Good - Fair" rating. The absolutely most powerful LED headlamp available. Evaluator comment: "Great illumination, too heavy."
Halo 5000 surgical headlight.
Dual high intensity LEDs.
Dual battery charger.
Summary: Good design, medium-high intensity output, loupe or headband options available, good ease of use, long battery life, short recharge time, & lowest amount of glare in patient's eyes. Evaluators noted good intensity control, but disliked small spot size & higher cost. Overall "Excellent - Good" rating. LED PortaLite exhibits high quality & performance. Evaluator comment: "I think this is still my favorite."
LED PortaLite with battery pack.
2nd battery plugged into charger.
Summary: Small streamlined design is very appealing. Provides bright white light when batteries are new, but output steadily decreases with use. Evaluators noted ease of use of universal clip, but disliked non-rechargeable batteries, lack of cord control, location of on/off switch along the cord, & high cost. Overall "Good - Fair" rating. One Spot is small & easy to use, but overpriced based on its features relative to other brands tested. Evaluator comment: "This was our favorite light, good white light, lightweight."
One Spot with battery pack.
One Spot mounted on loupes.
Summary: High intensity output, many mount options available, good ease of use, & good battery life, but glare is uncomfortable if patients glance into light. Evaluators noted good intensity control, minimum of bluish color, & good cord control, but disliked high cost. Overall "Excellent - Good" rating. PeriStar had the best color & intensity of the top performing brands tested. Evaluator comment: "Good intensity range."
PeriStar (U-clip version) with battery pack.
Headband version.
Battery on charger.
Summary: Unique headlamp featuring two independent spotlights. Battery pack can be positioned on headband or carried on belt clip. High intensity output had whitest color of any LED headlamp tested. Evaluators noted good performance, but disliked short battery life, high temperature of spotlights, lack of precision aiming adjustment, bulky appearance, & high glare. Overall "Good - Fair" rating. Spring LED Headlight has high quality output, but lacks the refined features of other brands available. Evaluator comment: "Beautiful illumination."
Spring LED Headlight.
Batteries mounted on headband.
Dual LEDs.
Battery on charger.
Summary: Small, simple design meant to be carried in shirt pocket. Evaluators noted low cost, light weight, simple control, & universal clip-on mount, but disliked low intensity that decreased during use, inflexible cord, & difficulty changing batteries. Overall "Good - Fair" rating. StarBright was the least expensive brand tested & could serve well as a supplementary light source or for out-of-office or emergency needs. Evaluator comment: "Intensity OK."
StarBright with battery pack.
StarBright mounted on loupes.
StarBright.
Summary: Good design, medium-high intensity output, loupe or headband options available, good ease of use, & longest battery life of any brand tested. Evaluators noted high intensity & good cord control, but disliked high cost. Overall "Good" rating. Zeon LED Portable exhibits good performance & features & is designed to be used all day without having to change batteries. Evaluator comment: "Excellent brilliant light, very light weight, very small."
Zeon LED Portable with battery pack.
Battery pack and charger.
- Apex by Princeton Tec (www.princetontec.com) $75
Summary: Surprisingly good performance & features for relatively low cost compared to clinical models. Light had only moderate intensity & was more diffuse, but it was regulated to a constant output. Because of its different intended use, the optics are not engineered to deliver the controlled central bright spot needed for clinical work. Overall "Good - Fair" rating. Suitable for emergency or out-of-office illumination needs. Evaluator comment: "Not bad, better than [some] other ones."
Apex headlamp.
High intensity central LED.
- Zeon Illuminator by Orascoptic (www.orascoptic.com) $1150 (price includes light source & fiber optic cable)
- Zeon LumenARC by Orascoptic (www.orascoptic.com) $1550 (price includes light source & micro fiber optic cable)
Laboratory Study Control: Tungsten-halogen bulb & fiber optic system.
Summary: Good design, medium-high intensity output, large well defined spot, intensity control, & yellow filter for working with resin. Light had yellowish tint characteristic of tungsten filament sources.
Zeon Illuminator.
Laboratory Study Control: Metal-halide lamp & fiber optic system.
Summary: Good design, medium-high intensity output, large well defined spot, intensity control, yellow filter for working with resin, smaller size than other conventional systems, & metal-halide arc lamp produced beautiful white light.
Zeon LumenARC.
- Features Chart (Back to top)
- Battery Life Graphs (Back to top)
- Spot Profile Graphs (Back to top)
Eight clinical LED headlamps were evaluated & compared to a consumer LED headlamp, two conventional fiber optic headlamps, & a conventional chair mounted operating light. All eight were found to be clinically useful & received overall grades of Fair or better. None were graded Excellent in all categories. Main differences noted were convenience features & cost. Two distinct groups emerged: 1) Those with regulated high intensity output powered by large rechargeable batteries, & 2) Those with unregulated lower intensity output powered by consumer AAA batteries. Key distinguishing features were loupe-compatibility, constant output, long battery life, variable intensity control, white color, & large spot size. No design evaluated adequately addressed infection control issues. Evaluators generally considered all models to be over-priced.
Most headlamps tested were designed to be mounted on loupes. Clinicians accustomed to wearing loupes found the additional weight negligible, but time was required to adjust to the new tool, especially controlling where the cord fell. Some users reported that the increased visual acuity produced by the headlamp improved the quality of their dentistry in a manner similar to their switch to using magnification. Headband mounted headlamps are also available, as well as models mounted on protective eye-wear & simple frames. Evaluators generally disliked headband models because they were heavy, bulky, sweaty, inconvenient, ruined their hairdo, "and looked, well, dorky." Oral surgeons, however, have long used headband headlamps routinely. Lightweight headband models may by ideal for non-loupe wearers.
LED headlamps were found to produce whiter light & better tissue color than conventional tungsten halogen light sources. Most LED light had a faint, but distinct blue tinge that could make soft tissue appear cyanotic.
The principle advantage of a headlamp over a conventional operating light is that the light is parallel to the operator's line of vision, thereby eliminating shadows caused by hands, instruments, & patient repositioning. For this reason, any headlamp design seemed advantageous to new users. Assistants, in particular, found their workload lightened by not having to frequently reposition the operating light.
The principle advantage of LED headlamps over conventional fiber optic headlamps was improved portability. Other advantages noted were better color, less noise, less heat, lighter weight cord, & no burned out bulbs. Disadvantages noted were more diffuse light with a smaller central bright spot, decreased intensity with use, & necessity to change batteries. Most clinicians found LED headlamps liberating after being tethered to the counter by conventional headlamps. Oral surgeons, however, generally preferred the intense, consistent, well-defined spot of their conventional units.
The general consensus was that LED headlamps offer the best possible & most convenient illumination currently available. Brands with the best combination of features were: (listed by cost as of 1/6/2007)
The January 2007 CRA Newsletter report was a "First Look" based on initial clinical & laboratory evaluations. Many headlamp brands continue to undergo field testing by CRA's team of clinical evaluators & additional information will be posted here as it becomes available. Headlamps were tested for clinical usefulness & assessed by the standards of ADA Specification No. 89 "Dental Operating Lights" to determine if they met long-established expectations for clinical lighting.
Clinical LED Models (listed alphabetically)
Consumer LED Models
Many Evaluators expressed frustration that LED headlamps were so expensive (even priced similar to conventional fiber optic systems) when they seemed to be just fancy flashlights mounted on the head. So CRA found the commercial LED headlamp with the brightest spot (at a clinical working distance) available. We would like to thank Michelle & Paul from our local Cabelas outfitter for graciously tolerating CRA researchers as they marched in with their lab books & equipment & methodically tested every headlamp in the display case!
Counter-Top Models
As controls for laboratory testing, two high quality conventional fiber optic headlamp systems were evaluated.
Coming Soon
Coming Soon
Coming Soon
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| test_attachment.pdf | 458.24 KB |
![[]](/sites/all/modules/ecommerce/cart/images/cart_empty.png "View your cart items"){kind=spacer}