Operating theatres

Hospital operating theatres demand very specialised illumination. The visual comfort and performance of the medical personnel during operations is of most crucial importance. In this very sensitive domain, trust in technology plays a critical role.

The national standards for operating theatres in terms of lighting can be fulfilled through the use of cleanroom luminaires with an IP65 ingress protection rating. The cleanroom lighting concept was devised for the protection of patients, personnel and equipment from contamination by dust, pollen, bacteria and viruses that may otherwise have deposited in or on the luminaires. These lights have a high efficiency rating and help to prevent glare when glancing at monitors with vital information. In the operating area alone, special luminaires with illumination levels of up to 100,000 lux are used. Ergonomic lighting using RGBW solutions is also beneficial when used in surgical theatres.

Glamox cleanroom luminaires have been tested for air cleanliness at the Fraunhofer Institute in Stuttgart. Fraunhofer’s test centre utilises a specially designed test environment in order to obtain correct measurements. The luminaires are mounted on an aluminium profile and clean air is blown in front of the luminaire via 9 different funnels. The test provides an accurate overview of how many particles and of which sizes are transported by the air from the luminaires.

Lighting requirements in EN 12464‐1

Type of task / activity area

Lux-level (Em)

Glare rating (UGRL)

Uniformity
(U0)


Colour rendition
(Ra)


Em,z Em,wall Em,ceiling  Specific requirements

required modified U≥ 0,10
Pre-op and recovery rooms 500 750 19 0,60 90 150 150 100 Illuminance at floor level.
Operating theatres 1000 1500 19 0,60 90 - - -  
Operating cavity - - - - 90 - - - Em: 10 000 lux to 100 000 lux

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